Phoenix Initiative
by snickerslv100
Summary: Currently being restarted as Transcendent Equinox, since this story is pretty much mess. There's a lot of inconsistencies, but read if you feel like it. Cho goes back in time to save Cedric and be with Harry. Harry follows Cho back to deal with Dumbledore's manipulations, and he gets trapped inside his younger self. Harry/Multi Partner.
1. The Effects of Time-Travel

Title: Phoenix Initiative**  
**Category: Books » Harry Potter  
Author: snickerslv100  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: M  
Genre: General

**Disclaimer: Any material that could potentially be considered infringement of copyrights and trademarks should be considered the property of their respective creators and owners. You are reading this of your own freewill, so please refrain from reading if you don't like graphic violence, explicit sexuality, vulgar language, polygamous relationships, character deaths, arranged marriages, or usage of drugs. ****There are many cliches and stereotypes in Harry Potter fanfiction because its been around for so long; I try for originality in my own way, and will likely give a shout-out to whatever other story gave me a basic idea or concept though I've been reading for a long time and will likely forget where something came from.**

**Some of you may think that he'll have an easy time completing his objectives because of his initial economic and political status, but he's a minor and can't really use anything that he inherits except for some amazing equipment that I was inspired to create in the heat of the moment. His plan isn't as straightforward as you'd expect, and Voldemort also gains foreknowledge through his soul fragment. ****Because of his actions, events occur at a higher frequency than they do in the cannon plot and he must think on his feet to overcome the obstacles. ****The protagonist, ****Harry Potter, will be majorly out of character, due to the influence of Voldemort's soul fragment and an older version of him also inhabiting his mind. I plan on making him grow into a likable, dynamic, and round protagonist rather than the cardboard cutout that most people seem to want.**

**********This is a work-in-progress ****plot blurb without a definite direction for the plot as of now, so I'm perfectly open to suggestions. Reviews containing constructive criticism and praise will certainly speed up the updating process.**** I write for fun, and anonymous flames sap the fun out of writing; if you want to flame, at least give me a way to reply to you...**

******I'm writing this to flex my creative side and refine my writing. Don't be surprised if entire chapters get completely changed after they're initially published. **I type when I'm sleepy because my creative juices flow better, though I tend to make more typing mistakes than I otherwise would if I were awake. I have no BETA proofreading this and correct as many mistakes as I can, yet some things slip through the cracks. If you send me a personal message telling me where mistakes are, I'll create an original character in your honor and give them a small role.

* * *

Harry Potter slowly opened a door. The Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation was Cho Chang, and she had mysteriously disappeared. Ever since the Bertha Jorkins incident in 1994, the Ministry was much more proactive in their searches for missing personnel. And he, the Head Auror, was in charge of this investigation. He hoped she was fine... He hadn't really talked to her since the Battle of Hogwarts in 1997, when she offered to show him to the Ravenclaw common room and got shot down by Ginny.

He felt a slight twinge of anger at the memory. Ever since she divorced him and took half of the Potter fortune for herself, he hated her. Not for monetary reasons, but because she played with his emotions for nearly thirty years before she did it. Then Ron cheated on Hermione with nearly a dozen cheap prostitutes and admitted to only being friends with Harry initially for the fame... They hadn't been friends since. And that was almost thirty years ago. Deciding not to dwell on the past, he quietly entered the office. To his surprise, it was empty.

He was about to leave when he saw it, the note that was stuck on her desk in between what appeared to be a mission report and an old journal. There was also a bottle of firewhiskey out, and a suspicious lack of shot glasses around. Curiosity coursed through him as he picked up the note, his eyes moving quietly across the paper.

He noticed that her handwriting was very precise manuscript, the work of a muggle pen. He smirked, knowing that there was a growing divide between those that adapted to muggle technology and those that were staunchly against it ever since they revealed their existence to the world in 2042. Just ten years after the formation of the Coalition of Magical Beings, consisting of humans, high elves, faeries, werewolves, vampires, goblins, warlocks, and veela. It seemed that she, like him, supported the notion that sometimes technology was better than magic.

_To whoever it may concern,_

_I, Cho Chang, have had my entire world turned upside down. My life was effectively miserable from my fifth year at Hogwarts on. First Cedric Diggory died, then I had a disastrous relationship with Harry Potter, then my parents got divorced, then my whole family was killed in Voldemort's second uprising. Most people would've given up if they were forced to go through so much. But not me. I buried myself in work here at the ministry once the dust cleared, never paying attention to anything else. I'm now seventy years old, and the only thing I have going for me is my job. I have no husband, no children and grandchildren, no pets, no friends..._

_My life has been all about work for the past five decades. Looking back, I regret it all. And the only person I could blame was myself. Well I could blame Voldemort too, but he ruined many more people's lives than just myself. And I was content to simply distract myself with my profession, hiding the self loathing and hatred I felt for the Dark Lord._

_That all changed when I read the mission report sitting directly to the left of this note, and then the accompanying journal. I have since decided to end my existence by jumping into the unknown. I've heard, through sources that will remain unknown, that there's a room in the Department of Mysteries that holds a magical anomaly; something that causes spatial distortion and temporal displacement. In theory, If I enter that room, I'll travel through time to some fixed point in the past. Tests show that sentient beings can actually choose the time and place that they exit the stream if they concentrate hard enough._

_My mind and soul will be dumped into a younger version of myself, but my body will be broken down by the timestream. I plan to go back to my first year at Hogwarts. That way, I can implement myself into my own brain and hopefully get my bearings before Harry Potter comes. I've been in love with him since the moment I saw him on the Quidditch pitch in my fourth year, his third. I turned him down to the Yule Ball in my fifth year because of prior obligations with Cedric Diggory. I will not let him slip through my fingers this time, and I plan to have a happy family._

_Harry, if you read this, I'm sorry. Read the mission report and journal and you'll understand why I did this._

_Love,_

_Cho_

It took nearly an hour to finish reading the mission report and the accompanying journal. And in that hour, Harry's entire worldview was flipped upside down. The journal belonged to his mentor and grandfather figure, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. It explained, in excruciating detail, the many ways that his esteemed Headmaster manipulated his life. Harry Potter was simply the result of a breeding experiment, then conditioned through misery in a way that would make him a perfect 'weapon for the Light.' That was why the old man had no qualms about raising him as a pig for slaughter.

When Dumbledore realized that Harry himself was a horcrux, around Harry's fifth year, he decided not to tell him. Instead, the old fucker knew from the way Harry was raised that he would willingly sacrifice himself for the 'Greater Good.' When Harry saw just how convoluted the old man's plot truly was, he couldn't believe his eyes. He knew Dumbledore was keeping some secret from him, but just assumed that it was him being a horcrux in the end. No, Harry was actually just a tool in the eyes of the 'False Light.' Dumbledore's entire 'Grand Scheme' was written down, edited only to ensure the total destruction of Voldemort.

If the old man couldn't have his ultimate weapon against the Darkness, he might as well take out the most powerful dark wizard of the twentieth century. The thought that he was so easily used and discarded made Harry feel physically ill. In fact, his tumultuous emotions were so erratic that it caught the attention of Equinox, his familiar, black male phoenix.

Equinox first appeared to Harry several times when he was a Cursebreaker for Gringotts. Egyptian pyramids, Greek temples, Norse strongholds, Mongol fortresses, Chinese crypts, Roman palaces, Celtic burial grounds, Sumerian complexes, etc. He followed him wherever he went for the longest time, yet never approached him and always fled when he tried to contact it. It was only once he successfully advocated the creation of the Coalition that they finally appeared directly before him.

And now his anger was so great it was affecting his familiar. His magic was leaking from his body, bleeding into the environment. He wasn't consciously aware of the fact that a miniature hurricane had sprung into existence around him, nor that his familiars were creating an inferno along with him. It took a few minutes to calm down enough to be able to even see again, but Harry still wasn't thinking rationally. It'd been too long since he indulged his anger, and not even a mastery of Occlumency was helping him rein in his emotions. He exploded from Cho's office, sprinting as hard as his old body could take him to the Department of Mysteries.

Only one thought broke through the cloud of pure wrath that had descended over Harry, 'I'm following Cho, and I will get my revenge!' It'd been so long since external stimuli had significant enough stress to even affect him, and he had gotten complacent. But now that something finally broke through the mental sheilds that'd been decaying for several months, he was practically insane with hatred.

Before he knew what had happened, he was before the room whose lock had once melted Sirius's knife. "Alright Equinox, take us to the other side of that door!" he said. The midnight phoenix nodded as black flames began trailing off its body and licking up Harry's. The next thing they knew, they were falling into an eternal abyss and he allowing his body to be manipulated by the timestream.

Pain the likes of which would be comparable to the Cruciatus Curse racked his body for all of eternity, yet also in the blink of an eye.

The hero of prophesy fell through the planes of oblivion for what seemed a hundred years. He knew that how he perceived time wasn't the same as how fast time was truly passing, but it was still disconcerting. It felt like the rate time moved was changing and even occasionally reversing. If it weren't for the constant reminder of who he was by his familiars who'd followed him into the unknown, he would have lost his mind. His incorporeal form faded in and out of realms he'd read about in ancient scrolls, and he was tossed about in the maelstrom between.

Despite not having physical eyes, he caught glimpses of seas of lava with the souls of the damned being boiled. He saw gloomy forests with angry trees and dead corpses hung from their branches. He could've sworn that a misty island was simply silhouetted in grey nothingness, before he was pulled back into the maelstrom. He landed for a fraction of a second in an enormous library that stretched as far as his eye could see, which was quite far given the lack of biological constraints in this metaphysical form.

Equinox had said the journey would be more than most mortals could bare, yet he thought that was just something the god-like being felt like saying. Time and space were losing meaning to him now. Raw information was flowing into his mind faster than a physical brain would ever have been able to process. He was sure that if he had a brain of grey matter at any moment during this trip, it would've turned to mush simply from sensory overload, not to mention the harsh environments he was only being exposed to for fractions of a second. Or was he forced to see the same scene for several millennia?

And then, everything suddenly stopped. He somehow knew exactly where he was. He knew exactly _when_ he was. He was inside his own mind, just after being placed on the doorstep of Number Four Privet Drive...

Harry Potter was standing quietly in darkness, a space that represented his younger self's mind. Before he could truly do anything important, he'd need to remove all of the magical barriers that Dumbledore had apparently placed on him before dropping him off at Privet Drive. And if he did that, there was always the chance that the portion of Voldemort's soul that accidentally was placed inside him would gain influence. He would need to somehow get somebody to break the barriers from the outside, as that would be the only way for them to be lifted. And then he'd have to fight with a hostile soul fragment, hopefully preventing it from infecting his younger self.

Harry couldn't have that. Giving the Dark Lord he defeated in single combat several decades ago the very weapon that destroyed him would be... counterproductive to Harry's cause. How could he have forgotten all about Voldemort? His first seven years in the magical world were spent in an almost constant firefight with the dark wizard. So much time had passed that the memories almost completely faded away, and in his anger at Dumbledore's actions, he acted without thinking.

The problem he was currently facing was that there was no way to get rid of the soul without killing his younger self in the process. The only reason he survived the first time was because of luck on his part and stupidity on Voldemort's. Lily Potter sacrificed herself to Voldemort for the sole purpose of create a blood ward to protect her son from him. Her death by Voldemort's hand tore his soul even more, causing the unstable spirit to break off and enter the body of Harry. When Voldemort used Harry's blood as an ingredient to reform his physical body, he took in Lily's sacrifice. Harry had Voldemort's soul, and Voldemort had Harry's blood.

All sentient creatures have three components: mind, body, and soul. The killing curse fulfills its purpose by separating the removing the soul from the equation by severing the bonds between the three. When Voldemort hit Harry with the unforgivable killing curse, he severed the portion of his own soul instead of Harry's. That's why he didn't die. And even if he had, as long as Voldemort was alive and still carried Lily's magic in his veins, Harry couldn't die.

That's what the prophesy meant by, "Neither can die while the other survives." They were tied together with ancient magic, both dark and light. The only way for them to die was to be simultaneously. He truly was lucky that he wasn't killed in the final duel against Voldemort. Now that he'd gone back, he needed to prepare for that exact same battle. He couldn't leave anything on the Voldemort front to chance.

He knew it was selfish to throw away everything for revenge, but when he learned of Dumbledore's deceit, the true, unedited plan laid out by the old man... He saw red, quite literally due to the blaze caused by his familiar. Everything he knew, everything he was, was a lie. He couldn't begin to guess why Cho decided to go back in time, since this had absolutely nothing to do with her, but he appreciated her help. It would be nearly a decade before he saw her again, and when she did, she wouldn't recognize him as the scrawny, helpless child that she met in their first life. No, he was going to make his younger self harder than diamonds, as unforgiving as asphalt to a skater.

It would take a while to actually contact his younger self, however long it took to release those pesky restrictions. He could slightly weaken them, giving himself confidence rather than make him submissive, but that was about it for now. And then there was the fact that Riddle could extend some influence too... But he knew what his younger self was going through, and confidence would help him immensely. He would eventually change the younger Harry into a hero actually worthy of the attention that he'd no doubt gain one day. It would be so worth it; to be at optimal performance level throughout his Hogwarts days could potentially end the war with Voldemort before it even began, and he could ruin Dumbledore in the process. And then he could supply his younger self with advanced knowledge and skills...

But for now he'd wait, coming up with plans...

"I wonder where Equinox went," Harry said to himself as he began to give himself a brighter future.  
_

Harry Potter didn't like Primary School at all. He was in the same class as his fat cousin Dudley, and Dudley made sure that everybody knew just how much of a freak Harry was. He tried to change the way they saw him, but it was already too late. Dudley and his gang of idiotic friends actively bullied Harry, often giving him wedgies or swirlies or other very cliche things of that sort. Of course, Harry had never been allowed to watch television before, so he wasn't aware of how unoriginal his bullies were.

Then there was, of course, everybody else in the class. Nobody stood up for him, nobody seemed to care all that much. It was the standard law of expediency: people only care about things that directly affect them. If the children tried to help him, then they'd become the targets of the Gang's attention too. So everybody watched silently as he was humiliated by his relative.

He was always chosen last for sports in recess and physical education, and nobody sat with him at lunch if they could avoid it. No matter what he tried, he couldn't even seem to get the teacher to notice his situation. Whenever he tried, she wouldn't believe him and would tell his guardians that he was making up stories about Dudley. After the first time she did that, he quickly gave up trying to escape the hell that was Kindergarten. He resigned himself to the misery that went along with prolonged exposure to his cousin and had accepted his fate.

He wasn't at school now, though he was beginning to wish he was. Being stuck in a cupboard for so long was starting to play tricks on him, making him almost miss the nightmare of school.

He could remember the time he was on his way back home from school, being forced to walk even though Dudley got driven back to the house, which meant that he had a small amount of free time away from the prying eyes and sniping insults of his Aunt Petunia, the harsh fists of his abusive Uncle Vernon, and the whiny bitching of his Cousin Dudley. This was his break, once a day, from the terror that he called life. He would do anything to stall his return, but it was absolutely necessary for him to report in soon. Those fatties needed somebody to cook their dinner for them.

_He stopped to literally smell the roses, sighing in contentment at his tiny rebellion. At that moment, an oddly dressed man approached him with wide eyes. "Are you Harry Potter?" asked the man. Harry idly wondered why the man was dressed so strangely, but decided that commenting on something as superfluous as the man's attire would be considered rude. And so far as he could tell, the man was nice._

_"Yes I am?" Harry said it as a question, conveying his confusion as to how some random dude from the street knew him. The man simply smiled and bowed, his hat comically falling off his head, before turning and skipping away. Thoroughly befuddled and a little creaped out, Harry forgot to stall and ended up and Number Four, Privet Drive, Surrey. Sighing, he pushed open the door, headed to the kitchen, and began making mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken, and macaroni and cheese __He quickly finished cooking dinner, ate his food, and turned in for the night. This was the first time that he welcomed the solitude of his cupboard, the first time he actually looked forward to sleeping in the spider infested darkness of the room under the stairs. He was going to escape them, if only for a little while..._

While his guardians seemed to hate it when he did well in school, this was his one rebellion against them. He kept his grades as best as he could, making Dudley look bad and only worsening his social problems. In fact, while Harry was socially awkward, he was an intellectual genius. It took him a while but he eventually discovered that he possessed an encyclopedic memory, allowing him to synthesize multiple different sources of information for whatever purpose he required. He had unusual skill with reading and writing, capable of writing essays that could turn the heads of most college professors. He was a kinesthetic learner, meaning that he had to do things hands on to effectively learn it, and his thought processes were incredibly linear.

He was incredibly quick at learning algebra, geometry, and even calculus at such a young age. He had passable knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics as well. He wasn't fluent in any languages other than English, but he was steadily working on French too. He greatly enjoyed psychology, sociology, geography, history, and economics. Harry was a capable drawer and painter though he rarely displayed his artistic talents.

If someone were to talk to him, they'd never guess that he was as intelligent and capricious as he really was mostly because the Dursleys tended to beat him when he aced smart to them. Anyone could tell that he was very smart, but he realized that if people knew how he truly was, their expectations of him would be so much higher.

And to avoid suspicions he'd have to meet those expectations so as to prevent disappointment. He didn't have the time to do what other people told him, often opting to indulge himself in private studies instead. Harry only had so much time before Senior went away, so he spent as much time as he possibly could absorbing information. The only time anybody got a glimpse at his true potential was during the numerous different science fair competitions, national spelling bees, and chess tournaments that he entered to test his mental capacity against others.

Harry was secretly learning Karate and Pankration because they were so fundamentally different that he doubted he'd ever be in a position that he wouldn't be able to solve with one or the other. He was even undertaking specialized weapons training. Harry was also heavily into extreme sports and parkour, steadily increasing his balance and reflexes. Needless to say, Dudley and his gang no longer bothered him after they found out they couldn't catch him. And then there was the time that he _flew_ onto the roof when he was running away from Dudley. Things like that happened to him on a strangely regular basis, though never the same thing or in the same way, and never on purpose. If he could do that on purpose, he'd totally wear a cape and jump from building to building...

Harry quietly served their food at the breakfast table with that stoic facade of his as Vernon and Dudley wolfed down eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon like, well, wolves. They would be served first, and only permitted him to eat scraps once they were finished. Their treatment of him had turned him into the apathetic and dominant person that he now was.

For the longest time he was abused by his caretakers, ignored by authority figures, told that he was abandoned by his parents, bullied by his peers, and sabotaged by his teachers on a regular basis. But then one crystal clear thought enveloped his entire mind, 'Why the fuck am I putting up with this?' That was the moment that his life changed for the better. That was the moment he squashed his emotions into a tiny speck before setting them on the backburner of his mind.

For unknown reasons, the Dursley family was insufferable in the general vicinity of Harry Potter, often going out of their way to neglect him while showering Dudley with presents. This was why Dudley was given anything he ever wanted. He had high-end furniture and electronics in his room, while his spare bedroom was filled with useless toys and such. Petunia and Vernon slept in the master bedroom. And Harry slept in a cupboard.

Vernon suddenly said, "Boy, get the mail." Harry, deciding not to be beaten within an inch of his life that morning, decided to do as he was told. When he picked the mail up, he noticed a letter addressed incredibly specifically to him. In his haste to find out who would be writing to him, he ripped it open on the spot and read it immediately. He slowly returned to the kitchen, feeling excited. Most children would likely not believe a word in the letter from Hogwarts, but he always knew he was _special_.

He held the letter up as he entered and said, "So how long have you known that I was a wizard?"

You could hear a pen drop in that house, it was so quiet.


	2. Relinquishment and Inheritance

**A/N: This section was partially inspired by 'The Power of the Mind' by trc007, 'Dakaath: Prince of Darkness' by LT2000, and 'Harry Potter and the Finding of Power' by MidnightPhoenix.**

* * *

Nearly a week after receiving his letter, Harry and Hagrid were on their way to Diagon Alley. They went through the underground, where Hagrid was stared at unabashedly by the majority of the muggles. He didn't seem to mind much, which was understandable considering the big man had probably been dealing with such attention his whole life. On their way to the Leaky Cauldron, they were accosted by what appeared to be muggers. The two criminals paled when they actually noticed the sheer size of Hagrid, and ran away with their tails between their legs.

Laughing heartily at the would-be thieves' retreat, the two entered the famous pub with amusement heavy in their demeanor. If Hagrid hadn't pointed out the tiny, grubby looking pub, he certainly wouldn't have even recognized it. In fact, he observed several muggles' eyes immediately skipping over the little bar prior to their entry. Tom the barman said, "Hey Hagrid, are you getting the usual?"

Laughing raucously, the big man replied, "No Tom, I'm on official Hogwarts business. Little Harry here needs to buy his school supplies." Hagrid's response caught the man's attention, who politely scrutinized Harry.

Then the barman, acting exactly as Harry knew he would, said, "Bless my soul, it's Harry Potter!" This proclamation carried throughout the entire pub, and suddenly all noise ceased. It was almost like somebody flipped a switch to block out the noise. Harry, despite being apathetic normally, wasn't yet used to being the center of attention anywhere except at National Spelling Bees, Chess Tournaments, or Extreme Sports Conventions. As such, his cheeks got a slightly pink tinge with embarrassment but nobody seemed to care.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter," exclaimed a nearby man. Harry recognized the man as the same one that approached him on his way home all those years ago and inclined his head. He didn't feel the need to acknowledge the man with words, but Harry knew that he conveyed his recognition because the man smiled and went back to drinking his firewhiskey.

"Thank you for what you did," said an elderly woman. "I'm Doris Crockford. I can't believe that you've finally returned to us." She then shook his hand, apparently signifying that everybody was allowed to do so. Soon the whole bar was approaching him, most of the customers were old and seedy looking people. The dark and dank pub suited them, and Harry got the weirdest impression that he was in real life Nazi Zombies. He noticed, with a raised eyebrow, that the decor was admittedly Victorian era at its latest, and it appeared that the establishment hadn't really been cleaned since then.

He shuddered at the attention of all the people and murmured to Hagrid, "Can we get going?" Hagrid for his part was a little disconcerted by the absolute lack of response by Harry to all the attention. Nodding, the large man led him away from the throng of hero worshippers out the back door, where he used his umbrella to tap on the bricks in a precise order. The wall that enclosed the backyard of the pub suddenly started churning, the brown bricks that made it up were seemingly spinning of their own accord and smashing together to form a hole, which quickly expanded into an almost ancient looking archway.

"Cool," was all Harry said in response before turning to Hagrid and saying, "I'm going to need money. Is there, like, a bank or something that wizards use? Obviously it won't be sophisticated and digital like a muggle bank, but it'll have to do..."

Hagrid noted the apparent disdain that Harry seemed to show at magic in general, but quickly squashed down any weird feelings that the boy was giving him. If he didn't know any better, he'd guess the child was deliberately goading him into retaliating. But the distaste on the boy's face, and heavily in his voice, suggested that he was being truthful. Of course had Hagrid known that Harry was actually in love with magic but effectively lying with the exact intention of getting the Half Giant to let his actual intelligence to leak through, he'd probably be much more wary of the ten year old. For some reason, Harry had the feeling that Hagrid wasn't trustworthy and was even hiding his mental ability. Such instincts had helped him out in the past, so he trusted them more than his new acquaintance.

"That's why we're going to Gringotts first. Its the wizarding bank, run by goblins. Your parents left you a substantial amount of gold, so you won't have to worry about that." After a few moments of walking together in companionable silence, Hagrid continued, "Since your birthday is in two weeks, I'm going to buy you a present after our first errand. How's that sound?"

Harry gave a half smile and said, "That would be agreeable. Thanks for the birthday present in advance." The child didn't seem quite as excited to get a present as Hagrid expected since he was supposed to have a harsh life with the Dursleys, but Hagrid would think about the implications of such behavior later. Though something did bug him about the child. Harry didn't seem all that surprised by many of the sights and sounds of the magical shopping center, though most people brought up by muggles were upon their first arrival.

Deciding not to outwardly show his frustrations at the boy's apathy, Hagrid grinned and continued leading him to the bank. It seemed that word of the Boy-Who-Lived's presence in the alley somehow preceded them, and they were slowly attracting a crowd of admirers for the celebrity. Many girls in his age group were batting their eyes, giggling, and winking at him, to which he responded with a small smile. That was the truest reaction he'd had to anything so far, yet still hid much of his emotions from the surface.

They were completely stopped when a blonde girl who appeared to also be a first year glomped him and said, "I'm Lavender Brown, and I hope to see you a bunch this year at Hogwarts!" before quickly kissing him on the cheek and darting back into the ever growing crowd. Harry was flattered by the attention, but starting to get annoyed. Their progress through the alley was slowing considerably, and Lavender's display gave other girls the nerve to also give him physical affections.

By the third time, Harry couldn't handle it anymore. By the fifth he was close to ripping his hair out. It took nearly half an hour to actually reach the esteemed bank, which thankfully barred such a large crowd from entering. The large halls of the bank were actually quite impressive, and Harry was keenly aware of the sheer amount of wealth in the auditorium itself. Goblins were weighing precious gems and metals in a public place, in broad daylight, next to the entrance. It seemed that they seriously doubted that anybody would be foolish enough to steal from them. Harry snorted, wondering how much hubris he would come across while out and about on that day.

Hagrid didn't waste any time and approached a goblin that was sitting behind a counter and said, "Harry Potter would like to access his vault please." His good natured grin was hidden by his beard, but the goblin didn't seem to find anything worth smiling about.

Before the goblin could even ask for their key, "You there, halt!" shouted a goblin soldier who was waving around a baton that was buzzing like crazy. Harry and Hagrid stopped and looked over in confusion, the large man starting to get annoyed at all of the distractions. The goblin pointed the baton at Harry accusingly before saying gruffly, "You've got something dark on you!"

Harry frowned and said, "I really don't think that I do, but you can search me if you want." For some reason, he really wanted to be searched. It was a weird compulsion. The goblin waved it over him and it buzzed like crazy by his head, especially close to his scar. In fact, it was vibrating so hard that the goblin had to use both hands to keep it stable. He watched in mild humor as the goblin's eyes widened and he flew away from him, knocking over several nearby guards. Many more suddenly leveled swords, spears, axes, and maces at him. He gulped and said, "I come in peace?" They weren't having any of that.

"Come with us!" shouted a nearby goblin. "You have an S-Class dark artifact somewhere on your person, and you can't leave until we cast diagnosis charms on you and retrieve it!" Harry looked bewildered but acquiesced to their request. He and Hagrid followed them once again deeper and deeper into the financial institution's complex until they ended up in catacombs with chilly air drifting around. "You are to wait here while we bring down a shaman!" said the goblin before he left. Though the small guard of goblins still leveling their weapons at him really discouraged such thoughts anyway.

Chuckling nervously, Harry said, "Now what?" Nobody else laughed.

Fifteen tense and awkward minutes later, a goblin shaman entered the room, flanked by even more guards. "Why am I being detained in such a manner?" asked Harry, wondering if he truly wanted to know the answer.

The shaman looked at him as if he were a bug and said, "You have an S-Class dark artifact on you. That means that there is something immensely dangerous on your person. Strip down!" That last part, those two words making up a command, didn't quite make it to Harry's head.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, clearly hoping that he misheard the shaman.

"I said STRIP DOWN!" yelled the shaman. Several of the guards began growling menacingly at him. Hoping that they weren't about to sexually abuse him, Harry quickly pulled his clothes off. The cold air made him shiver, though so did being down to his underwear in front of dozens of nonhuman entities. The shaman waved a similar baton over his clothes and said, "Your clothes are clean, which means that it must still be on you."

"I am NOT taking anything else off," said Harry vehemently.

The shaman nodded and said, "There isn't a need for you to at this point. I think I know what it is that you've got. There are only so many S-Class dark artifacts in the world after all. You are a horcrux."

Harry just stared at him and said, "Did you just call me a whore crux? I'm not even sure exactly what that's supposed to mean…"

All of the goblins in the room rolled their eyes, and Hagrid was staring with wide eyes at Harry's scar. "May I inspect your scar?" asked the shaman. Harry nodded and leaned forward, allowing the shaman to take a closer look. The goblin poked it with his pointy finger and black light filled the room. "Yeah, you're definitely a horcrux. We're going to need to put you through a Roman Purification Ritual… Oh, what's this?" Now Hagrid was starting to sweat a little, despite the coldness of the room. "You have a restriction placed on your magical core!" said the goblin with something akin to emotional inflection. "That's simply monstrous! You have naturally adapted against the strain, and you're magic will likely be far harder to control when we remove it, but it needs to be removed if we are to release the dark soul fragment."

"Dark soul fragment? What's going-" but he was cut off when the shaman started singing. The words were in the goblin language, and completely indecipherable to those in the room that didn't know it, namely Harry and Hagrid. Purple light started emanating from Harry, but rather than feeling scared, he felt… acceptance? It was almost as if a part of him actually wanted it to happen. His instincts were kicking in again, telling him to calmly take whatever was about to happen. Because anything was better than having a piece of Voldemort inside himself. Voldemort? Where did such an oddly specific word come from? It almost didn't even feel like Harry's own thought, but whose else could it be? Before Harry could contemplate how horrible that thought could potentially be, the purple light filled his vision and he lost consciousness…

_Only to wake up in a dark place. "Hello?" he asked, hoping he wasn't alone. That was his one true fear._

_"Its alright Harry, you aren't alone," said a voice. It filled him with a sense of calm and familiarity that reassured him of the voice's truthful intentions. "You have me," continued the voice, it echoing through the darkness that engulfed everything. It was masculine, though gravelly with age; obviously an old man._

_"And who are you, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Harry. There were a few seconds of silence before the voice replied._

_"That's a bit hard to explain at the moment. Basically, I'm you," replied the voice. "I'm just... a little more mature than you. I'm a different version of you, something that you could one day be, something that has been a part of you for longer than you can remember."_

_"So... are you my conscience?" asked Harry full of disconcert._

_Laughter answered his question, "I've taken over that role occasionally, but that's not what I am. I'm an older version of you that's sent my mind back in time and it ended up trapped in you when you were around one. Magical restrictions were placed on you shortly after that, so I haven't been able to directly contact until now. They're currently releasing the restrictions on your magical core now, which were also restricting me. Now, I can finally talk to you!"_

_Harry just stared into the darkness, "That's a pretty hard thing to believe, but it really isn't that much more implausible than a secret society hiding themselves with magic from the rest of the world. Alright, I believe you for now. Why did you come back?"_

_The laughter stopped, "Well, its kind of hard to explain. Let me show you…" and so the older version of Harry gave him a glimpse of a different, alternative life. It showed how Older Harry achieved success in defeating Professor Quirrel, Tom Riddle, a hundred dementors… and so much more. "Now that I'm finally here, I can begin teaching you magical theory and wizarding politics. Also, your two secret abilities have been unlocked. You see Harry, you were born as a metamorphmagus, somebody who could change their appearance at will. But you had another, dormant power that wouldn't have unlocked without my help. Harry, you're the first ever male Veela, which I'll explain later. For now, here's my plan on beating Dumbledore and Voldemort…"_

Harry's eyes suddenly shot open, his emerald eyes gleaming in the darkness. "Now that you've finished the Relinquishing Ritual, get the piece of Voldemort out of me now," he said urgently. They all readily agreed, though didn't appear to be doing anything. "Well? Aren't you going to get it out of me?" he asked angrily.

The shaman said, "I'm sorry, but we can't. Your magical core is already strained from the Relinquishment Ritual. It we do another, you're likely to die. It'll be about two weeks before you can go through the Purification Ritual without magical backlash. Besides, you're about to go into a coma for several days..."

And almost as if on cue, darkness filled Harry's vision and he felt like his skin was crawling across his body, and his insides were burning. It would be another few weeks before Voldemort's taint could fully leave his body. And it seemed that the horcrux was trying to influence him as much as possible before it was released from his body.

A nearby goblin spoke to Hagrid, "He'll likely stay unconscious for several days. The strain, while somewhat less severe due to his simply enormous magical reserves, will take a lot out of him. He's been through two rituals in rapid succession, a Relinquishment and Purification Ritual respectively. After we're finished, you should take him back home or place him in St. Mungos…"

Harry spent this time getting to know his older self, who asked to be referred to as 'Senior' and learning everything he could of Senior's plan and life in general. He had several days to do so after all…  
_

The thin boy awoke with a start, his bright emerald green eyes glinting in the paltry light of the early morning hours. His pale skin glistened with sweat as it shivered as a flash of black fire filled his room before coalescing into the shape of a black phoenix. "Hello Equinox," he said to the mighty bird. "I actually made it back," he said with wonder. He took a quick look over his body, realizing that his legendary unruly black hair was now straight and the lightning bolt scar accenting his forehead was no longer so glaringly obvious. This boy was renowned throughout the world for bringing about the end of Lord Voldemort as an infant, while simultaneously being the only person in recorded history known to have survived direct contact with the Unforgivable Killing Curse.

This boy's name was Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. The intense green of his eyes held a cold sense of determination that hadn't been there only hours before. No, the teen seemed to have discovered a sense of resolve and confidence that would change the face of the world soon. "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," he said with a twinge of anger in his voice. "I know about everything now," he continued in the same cold voice.

Thoughts swirled through the teenager's head, thoughts that would make most people think he was crazy if they could hear them; thoughts about things that had yet to be, thoughts of things that wouldn't be if Harry had a say in the matter. He got out of the bed and stretched, ready to begin preparing himself for the things to come. He looked around the room with something akin to nostalgia showing on his face. He smiled when he saw his snowy owl Hedwig and slowly approached her.

"Hedwig," he whispered ecstatically, "I haven't seen you in decades! How are you, old girl?" The owl tilted her beautiful head to the side, as if wondering if her owner had gone crazy. She knew for a fact that he hadn't even met her before sleeping for a few days, so why was he saying such crazy things? "I need to write a few letters. Do you think you can handle delivering them?" She snorted in amused annoyance, which he took to mean, 'Yes, you idiot!' He grinned and said, "Alright, let's begin…"

It only took him about ten minutes to write both letters, and soon Hedwig was flying out his window into the steadily lightening sky. Soon he'd never have to set foot in Number Four Privet Drive ever again. The boy sighed in contentment that his carefully laid out plans were put into motion, taking delight in the fact that soon he'd be putting both Dumbledore and Voldemort in their places. He relished in the knowledge that he, Harry Potter, would soon fix all of the problems that those two created. And hopefully, he could claim some happiness while he was at it.

He smiled and laid back down in the bed, already making plans for the future. "Thirty years back," he muttered under his breath. "I can't believe he made it..." He looked around the room with annoyance. He was in the Hogwarts Medical Wing, likely so that Dumbledore could monitor his condition and begin filling him with loyalty even earlier than last time. "Things are going to happen differently this time," he said to himself, with such conviction that both Equinox and Hedwig knew that he was right. He would certainly cause drastic changes, hopefully for the better.

He turned to the black phoenix, sure that Hedwig had enough time to send his note, and, wanting to leave before Madam Pomfrey or Dumbledore could accost him, said, "Alright Equinox, flash us to Gringotts. I've got some unfinished business to attend to…" The midnight bird happily obliged and they disappeared with a loud burst of phoenix song and dark flames.

Harry and Equinox reappeared in the main foyer of Gringotts, the entryway bright in the early morning sunlight. Nearby guards leveled all sorts of nasty weapons at them; swords, maces, spears, daggers, and axes. Gulping dramatically, Harry said, "I come in peace." The goblins stared t him with their beady eyes, unsure of what to do. He could've sworn he saw one or two close to laughing at his comment. Without further ado, he turned and walked up to the nearest teller, whose eyes were following his movements just as intently as everyone else in the bank. Equinox disappeared in a flash of black fire, though he felt warmth inside his magical core.

Holding out a hand expectantly, the tiny humanoid said, "Key?" It took a few seconds for Harry to remember exactly where the key was, but he found it after a few moments of digging around unceremoniously in a pocket of his blue jeans, grinning sheepishly at the sneer from the goblin. "Very well Mr. Potter. But first, could you come with me?" asked the goblin. Harry nodded and followed the goblin quietly, knowing that it would be the most respectful and expedient route to take for him considering the circumstances.

He followed the goblin, who he now recognized as Griphook, through a door that led to a corridor, that anticlimactically led to another door. The goblin ran his claw down the length of the door, which was made of some black material, and it swung open to admit them. Harry entered the room beyond, but Griphook turned and left with a slight grin on its face. The door closed quietly behind him, but his attention was largely taken up by the room and didn't even notice. There were all sorts of priceless works of art scattered about the enormous room, statues and weapons of precious metals were tastefully placed in good spots all over the walls. And enormous desk was facing the door that he just entered through, and a fireplace was glowing merrily just behind it.

Sitting at the desk was a goblin nearly twice as tall as the average goblin, so about up to Harry's chest. It wore goblin armor and a red cape, giving off an air of royalty and wealth that Harry doubted most humans could afford. Before he could stop himself, he said, "Nice office." The goblin didn't seem to be expecting such a blase statement from the eleven year old, and let out a gruff bark of laughter.

"Indeed Mr. Potter. I see you've recovered from your… ritual. Now why is it that you wanted to schedule an appointment with me at such short notice?" asked the goblin.

"There's actually quite a few things we need to discuss. I'm going to start from that which has the least immediate impact on the wizarding world, and work my way up from there," said Harry, his explanation catching the elder goblin by surprise.

"Oh, and what is it that you'd like to discuss first?" asked Ragnok, glad that the child could get directly to the point. Time was money after all.

"Before I say anything, you must swear a magical oath to never reveal these secrets to anybody unless I say otherwise. Is that agreed upon?" asked Harry mildly.

The goblin king peered at Harry, as if this were the first time he'd ever properly seen a human. He smiled grimly and said, "That's a wise precaution. Most of your kind just assume that there's a confidentiality agreement between us, but if they haven't made a binding magical contract, there's nothing to keep me from blabbing their secrets. Very well. I, Ragnok Shadowstalker, pledge my magic not reveal your secrets to anyone else unless you deem otherwise."

Harry nodded and said, "So mote it be." There was a brief flash of light that illuminated the lavishly decorated office before they looked at each other again.

Repeating himself, Ragnok said, "What is it that you'd like to discuss first?"

"I'd like to lodge a formal complaint with the current Financial Overseer of the Potter Family Vault over a gross misappropriation of funds. Because of him, my 'Ministry Approved' guardian, Albus Dumbledore, has been making suspicious withdrawals from the Potter Family Vault with impunity. And he's been using that money to fund the operations of his vigilante group, the Order of the Phoenix, as well as granting scholarships to people for enrollment at Hogwarts and paying bills. He's even 'donated' all my family's house elves to Hogwarts for his own personal benefit," said Harry.

Ragnok was stunned, but Harry was on a roll, "And he has done so much more! He used his influence as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengammot to prevent Social Services from checking in on me from time to time, and refused to place me in foster care. I've been living in the custody of my abusive and neglectful aunt and uncle for the past ten years, and have only now been able to get out of it because of Hogwarts. He wanted me to be so craving of attention and love that he could manipulate me into being loyal to him! But that comes in later."

It didn't seem like it was going to stop any time soon, "The Dumbledore Family swore fealty to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter seven generations ago, and thus he is now the Steward of House Potter and can appoint whoever he wants to our Wizengammot seat! And he chose my father's mortal enemy, Severus Snape, to place votes in m father's name! But that doesn't even begin to describe what Albus Dumbledore has done to me!" Stopping to take a deep breath, he continued, "And now onto the next important issue, my inheritance. I would like to take a blood inheritance test, to prove exactly which Houses and Vaults truly belong to me. I already know what they are, but I still need my credentials."

"And how do you know all of this?" asked Ragnok hesitantly, not sure whether he really wanted to know or not. He could tell that so far the young human hadn't lied to him, or at least that Harry believed what he was saying. Goblins had been dealing with humans for centuries, and were taught at a young age how to discover deception in the remarkably easy to read faces of most humans. Either this boy was the greatest liar to ever live, had his memories altered to think it was true, or was actually correct in all of his accusations. He hoped it wasn't the last one, because Dumbledore would be a hard enemy to beat even if they were on equal ground.

As the goblin kin began writing a note to fetch the blood testing parchment and ritual knife, Harry sighed and said, "That is something I'll discuss with you at a later date. For now, let me tell who placed the magical restrictions on me and why they did it. That night, when Dumbledore found me, he decided to make me an Ultimate Weapon for the Light by making my life hard when I was younger so I'd be willing to sacrifice everything for the Greater Good. He placed boundaries on my magical ability and restrictions on my physical growth."

At that moment Griphook entered with the Inheritance Testing Parchment and a Ritual Dagger. Knowing what to do, Harry sliced open his palm and let a few drops fall onto the parchment before anybody could even give him instructions. Feeling the need to explain away his foreknowledge to the grunt, he said, "We talked about this earlier." While he was thinking about how he briefly mentioned wanting an inheritance test done just before talking of horcruxes and prophesies, the grunt assumed they went over the procedure for inheritance testing and didn't detect the lie. Ragnok's eyes grew slightly at the revelation that Harry _could_ lie to goblins if he felt like it.

As the blood landed on the parchment, words began to form:

_Harry James Potter is the rightful heir and sole beneficiary of the following Vaults:_

_Potter Family Vault_

_Gryffindor Family Vault_

_Ravenclaw Family Vault_

_Hufflepuff Family Vault_

_Slytherin Family Vault_

_Gaunt Family Vault_

_Peverell Secret Compound_

Ragnok stared in surprise at the last one, seemingly stupefied by sheer disbelief. "The Peverell Secret Compound?" he muttered to himself. Deciding to bring Harry in on his wavelength, Ragnok continued, "The Peverells had three treasures that couldn't be used by just anybody. In fact, these particular objects are so powerful that they've passed into myth. I'm sure you've heard of the modernly christened Deathly Hallows?" Harry scrutinized the president, wondering just what was going on. "There is an... addendum to the Peverell Clan Vault. Certain conditions need to be met before anyone can gain access to the Vault, and they hadn't been met for centuries."

Having a vague idea about where this conversation was going, Harry said, "And those conditions have finally been met? And those conditions have something to do with me?"

Ragnok nodded and said, "A major portion of the Peverell fortune was hidden away in Gringotts, only accessible to a certain individual in the future. Only somebody who has gained the allegiance of all three Deathly Hallows may utilize the vault." Harry knew that the Hallows were all quasi-sentient like wands, but wondered why he had their loyalty... And then it hit him. Those magical artifacts were so powerful that they recognized him as their true master despite him being from another timeline.

He gained access to the vault last time after he defeated Voldemort, but didn't think that they'd still be loyal to him in this world. Since he now apparently already had their loyalty, he also had access to the vault. "And how would you know that the Invisibility Cloak, the Elder Wand, and Resurrection Stone have given me their allegiance?" asked Harry.

"This stone tablet," said Ragnok, gesturing to a vibrant tablet. It seemed to be swirling through all colors of the rainbow, and had four names etched into its surface. He couldn't make out the names, but he knew that the bottom one was his, "...shows that you are the true inheritor of the Peverell family name. However, due to your age, you cannot claim lordship. You are allowed to take any artifacts from the vault, but there won't be a need to," said Ragnok.

Harry tilted his head to the side and said, "So all this time this wealth has just been sitting there?"

"Well, its been steadily growing with an interest rate of fifteen percent every year, and has been untouched for... seven hundred and thirty four years. The original amount was fifteen million galleons. It has since grown to approximately two billion galleons..." (To put this in perspective, a galleon is roughly equivalent to ten American Dollars)

"This should make things move along a lot smoother," said Harry in a daze. It was one thing to be told by an older version of yourself that one day you'd have a lot of money, but another entirely to have it all suddenly land in your lap.

"I'll give you a calming draught," said Ragnok, knowing how Harry must feel. Harry nodded slightly, staring off into space. It would be child's play to beat Dumbledore and Voldemort now. He doubted that it would even be remotely difficult. He accepted the calming draught and instantly gulped it down. He felt like he was very close to fainting. "Alright, now you'll be able to access the various Vaults and Compounds that are now in your name," said Ragnok.

* * *

**A/N: Thank ****you Wizco for pointing out grammatical errors on my part! They've been fixed.**


	3. The Splendors of Diagon Alley

"I'll give you a calming draught," said Ragnok, knowing how Harry must feel. Harry nodded slightly, staring off into space. It would be child's play to beat Dumbledore and Voldemort now. He doubted that it would even be remotely difficult. He accepted the calming draught and instantly gulped it down. He felt like he was very close to fainting. "Alright, now you'll be able to access the various Vaults and Compounds that are now in your name," said Ragnok.

Harry nodded and left the office, giving a quick goodbye to the only other person in the world with more money than him. A nearby goblin, Griphook again, waved for Harry to follow him. The fact that he couldn't access the gold itself was irrelevant. He already had a plan to access the Potter Vault earlier than the age of seventeen. It could be easily tweaked to include the Peverell Vault as well. He idly noticed that the goblins were far nicer to him now that he had a shit load of money. They quickly piled into one of Gringotts's infamous carts and took off incredibly quickly into the catacombs and caverns.

Cold wind whipped past them as they zoomed along the track, cutting into Harry's face and eyes. Torches that occasionally were ensconced on the rocky walls seemed like blurry lines of bright orange, and at one point, though it was hard to tell due to the sheer speed of their movements, Harry could've sworn they did a loop-de-loop. "I can never remember what the difference is between a stalagmite and a stalactite," Harry said to Griphook.

"Stalagmite has an 'm' in it," was Griphook's curt response. To Harry it just felt like they were on a roller coaster, though his partaking in extreme sports involving broomsticks and bludgers might have been one of the reasons he was so calm about plunging into darkness at breakneck speeds without so much as a seat belt. The journey stopped relatively quickly and they were already at the Potter Vault. The goblin jumped out, ran his finger affectionately over the door, and stepped back as the enormous stone doors creaked open. This wasn't the family vault itself, just his trust fund.

Griphook handed him a pouch and said, "This pouch can hold up to a thousand galleons. That is your yearly allowance as instructed by your Ministry approved guardian, so spend it well."

"Ministry approved? You said that with some disdain, as if they weren't correct in the matter," said Harry, wondering if Griphook knew about Dumbledore's manipulations. Any information was relevant on the matter.

"Oh, they aren't. According to Gringotts protocol, your actual guardian is Sirius Black. He can overrule your 'Ministry approved' guardian's decisions, but he was serving a lifetime sentence in Azkaban before escaping and being forced to stay on the run. You see, he's still your guardian because your parents named him as such in their wills, and the magic connecting you to him wasn't severed because he was never given a trial. Because of the same clause, he is also Lord Black..."

Harry nodded and hesitantly scooped a small pile of gold into his bag, which expanded its mouth hungrily to eat the coins. Sometimes magic was plain weird. "That pouch also has several security measures on it. You are the only person that can deposit or withdraw money from it, and only you can even notice it. To everyone else it is simply invisible," said Griphook. Nodding happily with what the goblin said, Harry jumped back into the cart. They were soon on their way to his other vault. Within minutes they were standing before a door made of the same black stone that covered Ragnok's door.

"Stygmian Iron," murmured Griphook, apparently shocked that it would be used for something as mundane as a door for anybody other than Ragnok. At Harry's questioning glance, he explained, "That is the strongest metal in existence, capable of actually repelling magic itself. A few ounces would cost more than your entire trust fund vault contains..." And the door before them was absolutely massive.

As they approached it, Harry said, "How exactly does it repel something as volatile as magic?"

Griphook shrugged and said, "Its sort of like magnetism, I guess. It has a different charge to it, and they're repelled."

"...you do realize that opposite magnetic charges attract each other right? Similar charges repel each other," said Harry. He knew the magical world was supposedly behind the times scientifically and socially, but this was a bit preposterous.

"Who told you something as silly as that?" was the last thing he said before stroking the door, allowing it to open in a similar manner as the previous vault door. Crossing the threshold felt like he was walking through pure magic, which was likely the case. Once on the other side of the door, he stopped dead. There was a directory because of how large the vault was.

"No wonder Ragnok called it a compound," said Harry in awe. The mountain of gold in the center of the enormous room was quite possibly the size of an actual mountain, though it glowed with magic and he knew he wouldn't even be able to touch the coins. He noticed piles of other things around the room though they weren't as large as the pile of gold by any means; weapons, armor, eggs, etc. Right in front of him was a magical chest. It had seven locks, and a single key sitting on top of it. Guessing that it acted similar to Moody's box from Senior's fourth year, Harry shrugged and picked it up.

It was as light as a feather. As he walked around, he noticed several objects that would be well worth taking with him. There was a knife on a plaque whose description said, "_The Peverell Blade can untie any knot, pick any lock, vibrates in the presence of dark magic, and change form to suit the user's needs. If called upon, it will always appear in the user's hand if lost. It can be any dagger, sword, or axe that could be imagined, and probably a few that can't. Has been magically imbued with Basilisk Venom, don't use in fights unless the aim is to kill the opponent. Made by goblins and enchanted by high elves._" Knowing that a weapon like that was practically priceless, Harry took the knife, along with it's holster, and placed it in the chest.

He then came across a pensieve and quickly placed it inside his chest. He found an enchanted mirror similar to Sirius Black's, except that it replicated to the will of the 'user', allowing Harry to potentially give all of his future followers a way to instantaneously communicate across any distance. Then he came across a bottle on a plaque. Curious as to whether it would be as helpful as to blade, he read its description, "_The White Phial has the unique ability to copy any potion that the user has placed inside it, and is capable of automatically refilling with that potion once a day. It can store up to five separate potions and cycle between them at the user's will, allowing for versatile usage._" Yes, that definitely sounded useful. Imagine having a never ending supply of Felix Felicious, Polyjuice Potion, Veritaserum, Draught of the Living Dead, or Pepper Up. In fact, he could have all five if he searched hard enough.

After taking the vial, he scoured around for the potions he was looking for. While he was searching for potion phials through the hordes of priceless shit, he came across a blood red ruby also on a stand. Its plaque said, "_The Philosopher's Stone contains the Elixir of Life, is capable of turning any base metal into gold or silver, and can store magical energy for later use."_ Harry could've sworn that Nicholas Flamel was the creator of the Philosopher's Stone, so how could it have ended up in the Peverell Vault for centuries. Then again, Nicholas Flamel himself was several centuries old. After he picked it up and placed it in his chest, he came across a pile of potions and continued his search. He found all of the potions that he was looking for.

Deciding that he had enough, he made his way to the exit. On his way out, he accidentally nudged a suit of armor. The golden platemail suit tipped over slowly, and Harry watched in pseudo-horror as it came crashing down into a nearby pile of diamonds. He quickly scampered out of the vault with the chest over his shoulder, being careful not to bump into anything again. "Hey Griphook, the only other Vault I want to visit is Slytherin's Vault." The goblin nodded and they simply walked across the room and opened another door. This was, after all, the lowest floor of Gringotts.

Its inside was just as big, though more filled with empty space than anything else. The Gaunt Family were Slytherin's legacy yet the lived in squalor and filth, so why would he think there would be anything valuable in here? He was about to leave in disappointment when he noticed a book laying forgotten in a dusty corner. He approached it, and could somehow read the title before realizing that it wasn't in English. It was written Parseltongue. So would that make it Parselhand? He picked up the book, entitled, 'The language and order of the serpent.' He read the table of contents and blanched.

There were spells in the language, a lost alphabet of Ancient Runes, an alternative system of Arithmancy, and a quick note saying that a combination of Legilimency and Parseltongue could help control Wyrms, or in other words Dragons! He quickly scooped the book up and held it like it was a priceless artifact, which it was, before leaving the room with a reverent air. So far, today was a good day for Harry Potter, and it seemed like it was only going to get better.

Deciding that he had enough, he made his way to the exit. On his way out, he accidentally nudged a suit of armor. The golden platemail suit tipped over slowly, and Harry watched in pseudo-horror as it came crashing down into a nearby pile of diamonds. He quickly scampered out of the vault with the chest over his shoulder, being careful not to bump into anything again. When he finally exited the vault, he saw Griphook and Hagrid returning from wherever they went. "What are you doing here?" asked Harry. He was instantly suspicious of the sudden appearance of the Half Giant.

A grinning Hagrid replied, "Hogwarts business, very secretive." So he took the Philosopher's Stone out of Gringotts, planning on transferring it to Hogwarts where it would be 'safer'. He was also checking in on Harry, despite Harry having not told anyone where he was going before he left. He idly wondered how Hagrid would react if he knew that Harry also had a Philosopher's Stone of his own now. He'd likely flip his shit. But Harry didn't really care about the man. He was manipulative and a liar, downplaying his cognitive abilities simply to lull Harry into a false sense of safety. He only knew this because of Dumbledore's journal. "Well, best be on our way now," exclaimed Hagrid cheerily.

"Hey, since we're both here, why don't we pick up your shopping where we left off? I already got you your birthday present though…" Harry smiled back, burying his anger at the man, and they left Gringotts. He briefly thought about using his newly discovered yet limited metamorphmagus abilities to hide from all the fan-girls, but didn't want Hagrid to know about them yet. Resigning himself to the fact, Harry returned to Diagon Alley and was promptly mobbed again by prepubescent girls. Harry sighed and made his way to Flourish and Blotts to buy his school books, and hopefully some extracurricular reading material. He doubted that there would be anything of interest to him in the Ministry approved shop, but thought he'd look anyway.

They entered the shop together, and Harry immediately went to the student section. There was already a prepackaged bundle of books labeled, "_First Years_," so he bought that before looking around some more. While he was looking, he bumped into Lavender Brown again. "Oh Harry, I didn't expect to see you again," said the blonde. A quick legilimentic scan told him that she was lying through her teeth, but was doing it out of infatuation rather than some nefarious plot. Though knowing girls... Harry repressed a shudder and smiled back, though it was obviously forced. How do people always know where he is?

"Its good to see you Lavender. However, I do have a rather busy schedule and should stick to it, so I'll be seeing you," he said before turning and walking off. He heard her carry the conversation on sarcastically behind him, but didn't catch the words. He imagined they were something along the lines of, 'Thank you for kissing my cheek earlier Lavender. Oh no problem Harry, but you can make it up to me by buying me an icecream at Florean Fortescue's...' He felt some guilt over his curt response, but Senior told him that they weren't friends and would be a terrible match romantically. Ahem... not to say that he was thinking of such girly things!

As Harry was leaving the store, he bumped into another girl. She squeaked once she realized who he was, and said, "I'msorryIranintoyou!" before darting into the store. He didn't know whether to be amused or bemused, but decided to go with the flow.

He called back to her, "No, I'm sorry. Didn't see you. Well, hopefully I'll see you again at Hogwarts!" He couldn't tell whether she heard his shout or not, and he was curious about who she was. Unfortunately, he couldn't contact Senior unless he was unconscious, so he couldn't ask his older self. Since she didn't respond, he continued leaving the store and entered the next shop on the list, Quality Quidditch Supplies. In the street he caught sight of a blond haired boy and his parents looking snootily right at him.

"Well, if it isn't the famous Harry Potter," drawled the boy.

There was only one person this could be, so Harry replied, "Well, if it isn't the illustrious Draco Malfoy, my cousin." The Malfoys seemed surprised that he knew them. Smirking, he nodded to the elder Malfoys and said, "Lucius, cousin Narcissa." Before they could regain their wits, he was already in the sports store, searching specifically for a Nimbus 2000. She was supposed to be amazing, and he wanted her. Besides, she could always be a regular form of transportation if necessary. But then again, his black phoenix would likely be around forever…

He was looking all over for the specific broom, when he bumped into Lavender Brown. Again. "Hi Harry!" exclaimed the stereotypical blonde, "I was wondering... would you like to get some icecream with me?" She was batting her eyes and pouting her lips, but not really getting the sultry look down. She looked more like she was about to have an epileptic fit, but Harry didn't think that was something he should say to her.

"Ah, Lavender... well you see, the thing is... um... that I'm not..." but he was saved from having to answer her when he finally spotted the broom. "What a pretty broom!" he wildly exclaimed, knowing that Lavender was sure to get the hint from such an erratic change of discussion topic. "I think I'll buy that right now." He walked over, and it jumped right into his outstretched hand. "I think I'll name you, though I don't know what that should be yetm" he said, acting completely oblivious to the now fuming Lavender Brown.

The store clerk stared in amazement as the most difficult to master broom on the market just chose an owner seemingly on its own. "That'll be seventy galleons," he said breathlessly, not even trying to hide the awe that he felt. Harry put down seventy galleons and walked out the store. Lavender Brown stood stock still, not quite sure what just happened. Did he just ignore her, or was he naturally that passionate about flying? She decided it must be the latter since no boy had ever blatantly ignored her before, softly cooing when she thought about how sensitive Harry must be for his attention to shift so suddenly from her beauty to something as artistic as flying. He would be hers!

Meanwhile Harry, completely oblivious to Lavender's internal pep talk and rationalization of her crush, was making idle conversation with Hagrid as they approached Ollivander's Wand Shop. The dusty storefront showed that there was no reason for Ollivander to embellish anything about his work. He was an acknowledged master of his craft, and every single witch or wizard in Britain worth anything had one of his masterpieces. Harry confidently entered the shop, and was surprised to see the girl he bumped into earlier, searching for a wand.

"Alright Miss Bones, here's another. Eight inches, Holly and Unicorn Hair, Sturdy." The girl, who Harry now knew as Susan Bones, tentatively grasped the handle of her wand. She softly breathed out in relief, and sparks flew out of her wand.

"Oh Susie, I'm so proud of you," said Amelia Bones, her aunt.

Susan said, "Thanks-" but stopped talking when she saw Harry. Her face took on an uncanny similarity firetruck, in that it was really red, before she squeaked, "I..." She then ran out of the store, her face somehow even redder.

Harry turned to an amused Amelia Bones, "Please tell Susan that I'd love to one day be able to carry out a conversation with her." The Head of DMLE smirked and strode after her niece without saying a word, though she did smile briefly at him.

"Ah Hagrid. Sixteen Inches, Oak, Bendy. Its too bad you got your wand snapped, it was one of my largest creations ever," said Ollivander.

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Hagrid. Then he brightened, "But I did keep the pieces."

Ollivander stared back at him and said, "You aren't _using_ those pieces, are you Hagrid?" Harry smirked as Hagrid surreptitiously grabbed his umbrella. He practically snorted when Ollivander noticed the movement and said, "Of course you aren't." Then he turned his attention on Harry, "Ah, Mr. Potter. It feels like it was only yesterday when I sold your parents their first wands. Very well, I'll start you off with something that should suit you... Holly, Fourteen Inches, Dragon Heartstring." Harry barely touched the wand before it was snatched away, "No, no, definitely not..."

Harry projected with his mind, "_Try out the Holly and__Phoenix__Feather wand..."_ To his credit, Ollivander didn't even flinch when he received the information. "I wonder... yes... I'll try out one of my rather unorthodox creations..." And then he pulled a box off one of his many shelves, pulled out the wand, and Harry grasped it. Red sparks flew out the end and Harry sighed with contentment as warmth traveled through his body. "That'll be eleven galleons Mr. Potter. Also, could I have a private word with you?"

Hagrid immediately left the store upon seeing the serious face on Ollivander. "Now Mr. Potter, how do you know about that wand, and how did you come to master the mental arts?" asked the old wand maker.

Harry looked at Ollivander, truly studying him for the first time since entering the store. "I have never told this to anybody... Seventy years from now, I went back in time. That version of me exists in my head along with myself, and he has taught me advanced magic that didn't require a wand..." Ollivander, for his part, just stared right back at him.

"I expect great things from you, Mr. Potter," was the only way he reacted. The old man returned to the counter just as another customer walked in, an Irish boy whose mother referred to him as Seamus. "Great things..." Harry shivered and left the store.

"Alright Hagrid, where do we go next?" he asked.

"Well, we haven't gotten you fitted for robes yet, so let's go to Madam Malkin's," said the Half Giant. Harry nodded and they made their way to the clothes store. There were still gangs of girls following them, but none were hugging and kissing him like earlier. It was quite a relief, though Hogwarts would likely be hellish once mistletoe starts getting hung throughout the castle.

They entered without much incident, and Harry was told to sit on a stool between a cute blonde witch and a rather pudgy boy. "Hello, I'm Daphne Greengrass. Its nice to meet you," she said amicably.

Harry smiled back and said, "Harry Potter, and likewise." She didn't go all doe eyed like Susan or starstruck like Lavender. That earned her quite a few points in Harry's book. He knew she was destined for Slytherin, but maybe... He noticed the boy looking uncomfortable, so he said, "Hello, what's your name?"

The boy mumbled incoherently. Despite Harry having known Daphne for all of about ten seconds, the two exchanged a glance. She nearly giggled, but that wasn't the proper behavior for a pureblood noblewoman, so she had to content herself with an amused twitch to her mouth. Harry just chuckled and asked the boy to speak up. "I'm Neville Longbottom..." Harry looked the boy over. He was key to the resistance movement against the Carrows when they ruled over Hogwarts, and killed Nagini... He didn't really seem like the sort at the moment, but a lot could change in just six years.

Harry stuck out his hand and said, "Nice to meet you Neville. So what house do you think you'll be in?" Neville shyly muttered something that could have been 'Hufflepuff' or 'Suck my cock'. Harry was inclined to think the former, but the thought of the latter was funny enough that he let out a weird bark of laughter. Everyone stared at each other for a few minutes, then threw their heads back in laughter at such a weird ass sound. One of the workers that were measuring them snickered as well, and accidentally poked Harry in the arm with her needle. "Ow..." was the only reaction he gave, a mild one considering the mouth he could get when annoyed.

Before he could begin coming up with creative expletives to show his displeasure, Daphne Greengrass spoke up, "I'm destined for Slytherin." Harry noticed that she didn't sound particularly proud when she said that.

"Well, you would probably do well in Ravenclaw if you don't particularly want to be a snake. You seem smart enough to get in with them," he said. Neville nodded his agreement. "And you probably could to Neville, if you applied yourself." He was worried that he might have said too much and gotten him suspicious, but the scion of Longbottom looked thoughtful. Daphne however looked like she might suspect him of doing something.

Before they could reply, Harry's tailor smiled up at him and said, "You're ready to go Mr. Potter." Upon seeing the confused look on everyone's face, she shrugged, "He's much easier to measure than you two, plus I'm faster than these two dolts." This comment got playful swats from her coworkers but everything seemed fine. "So, I'm guessing you want these in black?" she asked sarcastically.

Harry smiled and said, "Yes, though I'd like to request that they be made of accromantula silk," nonchalantly. Everybody froze upon hearing this. That would make each set of robes well over a hundred galleons apiece. "I know its expensive, but money isn't an issue. Besides, they're comfy, are they not?" That silk was more than comfy, but he was really wondering about them because they were said to be capable of muffling a magical signature too. The workers all nodded dumbly, "Oh, and I'd like seven pairs, one for every day of the week." Now he was being stared at like he had tentacles flailing out of his ears.

"It'll be ready in two hours," said his tailor. She looked about ready to explode from happiness, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" Hagrid was staring at Harry, wondering just what sort of person the boy was. His personality seemed to be all over the place, either an excellent mask of his true personality, or the most erratic person he'd ever met. Including Luna Lovegood.

"Do you know where you get your accromantula silk from? I'd like to buy some straight from the source," he said with a hint of _something_ in his eyes.

At this, Daphne spoke up, "Obviously the Chang family. They're the premier dealers in anything and everything coming from China, and have been since the early eighteen hundreds. You could go to them, though I don't know if you could even get into Lianshang Alley without a passport..." Harry nodded his thanks and walked out the shop with Hagrid in tow. He now had an excuse to visit the Changs. Everything was going according to plan.

Harry and Hagrid returned to Gringotts once more for a passport to Lianshang Alley, Harry using the excuse that he wanted to speak with the Chang's about a business venture. Hagrid thought it was odd that Harry was already beginning to invest and whatnot, what with him only having limited access to his trust fund vault for barely two hours, but shrugged and went along with it. By now, the crowds of admirers were really annoying Hagrid since it seriously hampered their movements. "That does it! GO AWAY!" screamed the giant man, sending droves of female teenagers running in terror. He sighed and shrugged at the quizzical look Harry directed at them, and they were on their merry way.

They saw the Malfoy family again, but neither party acknowledged the other. Harry thought his show earlier might have given them pause, and smirked internally. Outside, he kept a facade of indifference to their presence and continued walking to Gringotts. "So Hagrid, what can you tell me about Lianshang Alley? I hadn't really heard of it until Daphne Greengrass mentioned it," said Harry. Hopefully his conversation in Madam Malkin's would make her and Neville more inclined for Ravenclaw, but he didn't have any way to be sure.

Hagrid regarded Harry for a moment and said, "Well, you hadn't even heard of Diagon Alley until I came to get you. In fact, I'd be surprised if you knew about Hogwarts and magic itself before you got your letter. Tell me, why do you seem so at ease with all of this? Most raised in the muggle world would be speechless by some of the things you've experienced today." It seemed that Hagrid's intellect was starting to come forth. His mask was slipping, and Harry couldn't help but feel satisfied that it was his doing that caused it.

"I once used accidental magic and asked my guardians what it was. They explained everything that they knew, all the while injecting their distaste of the abnormal, and that's why I've been so mellow. I'll admit that the fame, attention, inheritance, et cetera has been surprising, but I'm good at hiding such things. By the way, that was a very nice deflection. So what do you know of Lianshang Alley?" lied Harry.

Hagrid scowled despite trying to be friendly and said, "You're too smart for your own good, just like your mother. I've never actually been in the alley, though I can tell you that it's more than a simple Chinatown like most muggle cities seem to have. From what I've heard, there were so many Chinese immigrants to Britain once the Crown claimed Hong Kong that a special area was set up for them. One of the first families to come over was the Chang dynasty, which is probably one of the richest families that aren't considered noble. They dominate the market for silks, spices, tea... among other things..."

Harry knew about the Changs themselves, having discovered that they were major supporters of Voldemort decades later. The Wizengammot refused to allow the Changs a seat, and Gringotts didn't elevate their status to noble. So the admittedly bourgeoisie family held a grudge and began plotting their revenge. When Voldemort began recruitment the second time around, they joined early as covert supporters, supplying him with any number of items from the black market. Slaves, drugs, weapons, antiques... the Changs dealt in everything. Cho was a black sheep amongst her family, siding with Harry instead of Tom, though she wasn't aware of her family's allegiance at the time. When Cho's mother decided to side with her, Voldemort got wind and slaughtered the whole family except for Cho herself, who happened to be in hiding with the Order at the time.

Hoping to avoid the wholesale slaughter this time around, Harry decided to vie for their loyalty early on. Harry had a pretty rudimentary plan in place for them, but it was more to his own benefit. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even realize they were in Gringotts until he overheard Hagrid explaining their return. The goblin in charge verified their identities by examining their magical signatures with a special baton, before handing them slips of paper. They left the bank, waded through the even larger crowds of Harry's admiring fans, and saw the sign for Lianshang Alley.


	4. A Political Proposition

**A/N: The conundrum with Neville is explained later on. He's obviously alive, just not the same...**

* * *

Harry had a pretty rudimentary plan in place for them, but it was more to his own benefit. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even realize they were in Gringotts until he overheard Hagrid explaining their return. The goblin in charge verified their identities by examining their magical signatures with a special baton, before handing them slips of paper. They left the bank, waded through the even larger crowds of Harry's admiring fans, and saw the sign for Lianshang Alley.

Yelling over the squeals of various girls asking for autographs on inappropriate parts of their bodies (Harry was distinctly uncomfortable with this since he was only eleven), Hagrid said, "Harry, all you need to do is walk through that ward. The slips of paper will allow us to pass through unharmed, and we can leave behind all of your... well wishers." They looked at each other, nodded, and made a beeline for the ward. It was the thirty longest seconds of Harry's life, the sprinted journey from the entrance to Gringotts to Lianshang Alley. They watched many girls running into the wards after them but stopping and looking like they ran into a brick wall, not open air.

Chuckling, the two made their way into the alley. There were many differences between Diagon and Lianshang, but the most obvious was, unsurprisingly, the language. Signs with Chinese characters were all over the place, selling everything from medicinal herbs and spices, to live chickens and salmon. Then there was of course the architecture which was far more colorful. Sweeping gabled roofs, round columns, curtain walls and door panels, random lily ponds, circular doorways, and towers that looked like multiple colorful huts stacked on top of each other dotted the alley. Actually, calling it an 'alley' wouldn't really capture just how big the place was on the inside. It was more like an entire town in and of itself, contained in the space of an alley with what appeared to be extensive usage of expansion charms. Lianshang seemed to be about a tenth of the size of London by itself.

Harry wondered why such areas were called alleys when they were so much more than that, but decided it didn't matter. Lianshang had multiple residential, commercial, and surprisingly industrial districts. The deeper into the alley, the more affluent the place appeared to be. Towards the entrance there were as many beggars in the street as Knockturn. Though they weren't hags, they were still unpleasant to look at. Once Harry's plan was finished, hopefully these people would have better lives. In the meantime they were ignored as Harry and Hagrid made their way to the Chang Compound that was as far as one could go. All of the older families in Lianshang had compounds, rather than manors like the white nobles.

It took only about ten minutes of searching before they found their desired destination. The compound more closely resembled a palace than anything else. They approached the large ornate gate, and a servant was looking at them. Upon noticing them, she bowed deeply and asked, "Mr. Potter, Mr. Hagrid?". Harry nodded and she smiled brightly while still bowed, saying, "My master has been expecting you ever since Gringotts contacted him for permission to let someone visit." Harry noticed her eyes flit to his scar before a slight blush came to her cheeks when she knew she was caught, and her eyes were downcast. "Sorry about that," she continued.

Harry chuckled and said, "Its fine. Hey, could you stop bowing? Its sort of freaking me out a little bit." She smiled warmly at him and stood up, her eyes raking in his appearance. They stood there for a few moments before Harry continued, "So how old are you? You look like you could be joining me at Hogwarts this year."

The girl's blush deepened and she said, "I am currently working for the Changs so that they'll pay for my tuition."

Harry was a bit startled, "What? Won't the government pay for you to go or something?"

"Are you talking about the fund set up by the Board of Governors for the needy and impoverish to gain an education at England's premiere magical school?" At the nod of Harry's head, she actually laughed and continued, "That is only available to British citizens. I am not considered as such because I was born in Beijing to parents that sold me into slavery. The Changs noticed that I was quite powerful magically, bought me, and set me free. As payment, I am their servant when not being tutored until school starts. That wasn't their condition, I was just so grateful that they kept me from becoming some inbred swine's sex slave. While at school, I must make perfect grades or I'll dishonor them. Ah, here we are. The family is soon to have dinner, and you've been invited to dine with them. Hagrid, however, was not. Sorry about that. You can discuss business details over the course of the meal." And with that, she left.

Harry realized that he didn't even ask for her name. He'd pay attention during the sorting to learn it, but for now he let her exit his thoughts. If his plan went through, he would be getting a serious leg up. Hagrid huffed again about being separated from Harry at such a crucial time, but Harry knew it wasn't because the man was worried for his well being. Quickly, Harry entered the indicated room and sat down at a chair. The rest of the people had yet to arrive, so he spent some time looking around the room.

They seemed to be art enthusiasts, judging from the many paintings and decorative weapons on the walls, not to mention the sculptures and various vases and pots thoughtfully placed around the room. There was a lot of gold and jade artifacts glinting in the paltry yet cozy light of the dining room. Behind where he sat, where one would expect a wall to be, there was an arch leading outside and letting fresh air enter. There was a beautiful water garden through the door, with cattails, colorful butterflies, vibrant heron, iridescent fish, and numerous lilies. He knew for a fact that it wasn't as sunny outside of the palace as it was in the unexpected garden, so he figured it was charmed to always be pleasant.

When he returned his attention to the room, he realized that the family had silently entered and was waiting for him to notice them. The mother and father were sitting side by side, and Cho's two much younger sisters were also sitting at the table. He realized that every single one of them sat on the side facing him, all expressionless except for Cho. He fought down his surprise and kept it from showing, and gregariously said, "Lovely home you've got here," to nobody in particular. Cho smirked, and he could see that she was curious as to why he was there. Her familiarity could let her secret out of the bag, but he decided not to comment on it.

Mr. Chang said, "So, Mr. Potter... what brings you to our humble abode?" At humble abode, Harry felt his lips twitch upward, but he fought them back down. He detected amusement in everybody's eyes and knew they were testing him. At that moment, the servants carried in foods. Harry could smell the cilantro, garlic, onion, basil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, scallion, white pepper, and sesame oil permeating the room now.

Grinning, Harry said, "I've come for... an alliance of sorts. I could use your connections and influence internationally, and you could use mine locally. I know I'm being blunt, but that's just how I am." They were given oolong or ginseng teas depending on which were pointed at. The girl he talked to earlier blushed when he nodded to her, but nobody seemed to either notice or care except Cho. She narrowed her eyes, but otherwise didn't react.

"Are you asking to become a business partner, or something else?" asked Mr. Chang with slight greed in his eyes. Harry was just about to put some wet noodles in his mouth, but stopped his chopsticks in midair.

Harry smiled and said, "I'm willing to vouch for your family and elevate you to noble status, giving you a seat in the Wizengammot, along with four other families that you think deserve it. In return, I'd like certain... assurances." He allowed his emerald eyes to twinkle in the way Dumbledore's were famous for, before flashing a shining smile that would make Lockhearte jealous.

"What do you mean by assurances? Surely you can't expect to create an alliance from something so vague? I'd be glad to accept your offer if you could only tell me what exactly it is that you want from me," said Mr. Chang, his brown eyes boring into Harry's twinkling green.

Harry's smile grew and he said, "Well, to be honest, I don't need anything at the moment. However, I will in a few years. Basically, you'll owe me a favor that I can call in whenever I want," which would likely be to support him against Voldemort, Dumbledore, and the Ministry.

Mr. Chang looked speculative while Mrs. Chang scrutinized him, "And what is to prevent us from simply ignoring you when the time comes? Don't you want something to assure our support in whatever your future endeavor is?" He smiled back. It was obvious to him that she was the brains behind the family, running everything behind her husband's back. And he really liked the way she was shifting the conversation. She was trying to make it seem like a marriage between their families would benefit him more than them. From her perspective, it doesn't. But from his, it does.

Acting confused, he said, "Wouldn't you simply honor the agreement?" Cho seemed to tell that he was simply acting, but everyone else was buying it.

Mr. Chang snorted and said, "This is obviously your first alliance, so let me give you a hint since you seem likable. You need something that would bind us to you, something permanent. Most pureblood families use marriage in this way." Harry smirked on the inside, hoping to hide that they were playing right into his pocket. Mr. Chang's arrogance was immensely helpful, but it would one day be his undoing. For now, Harry was fine playing the newbie. It would make everything that much sweeter when they found out.

Smiling, Harry said, "You want me to marry one of your daughters? I'm open to that, but I'd prefer one close to my own age." Cho, being the oldest child of the Chang family, was the closest in age to him by at least seven years, and they would undoubtedly choose her to be his wife. Just as he predicted, Mrs. Chang whispered to Cho, who smiled and nodded.

She said, "Father, I would like to be the one he marries, if that's okay with him. I am the closest to his age after all." Her father considered it for about five seconds before he nodded. Harry's internal smirk was a full on Cheshire Cat grin now.

"Alright, we'll need to draw up a marriage contract at Gringotts and get it signed by me, your guardian, Cho, and yourself. I think we should do the signing in one week's time. I look forward to our families being joined together," said Mr. Chang.

"I do as well," said Harry with a smile touching his face, "I do as well..." The plan, so far, was going pretty smoothly. "Well, I best be off. I don't want to keep Hagrid waiting. I'll see you next Friday at 6:00pm sharp to sign the contract. Then we can work on getting you a seat on the Wizengammot." He had every intention of eventually doing that, but he knew that due to a certain complication, it would be quite a while before any of this could actually go through.

Harry stood up, winked at Cho, and left the room. Everybody noticed his much greater confidence and simply attributed it to the fact that he gained a new ally. Nobody but Cho knew that he was that brazen the whole time, just hiding it behind a mask of youthful innocence and took this as a naive first attempt at working his political clout. Only she recognized the subterfuge, yet had no idea what it was that Harry was truly trying to accomplish. She did, however, feel certain that he knew her before ever entering her family compound. And the only reason that she could come up with for his familiarity would be that he followed her from the future, a future that would be completely different because of what just happened.

She knew that this was an enormous point of divergence from the original timeline and that everything would be different now, but it was hard to imagine the exact magnitude of the event. The repercussions of their marriage would likely change everything, perhaps even allowing her family to survive past the rise of the Dark Lord. Yes, it was their fault for joining him, but if they didn't join him... they might just get through the conflicts of tomorrow unscathed now that Harry was protecting them. Of course, they would also attract Voldemort's attention and ire now, but at least they would be prepared for it.

Cho sighed, glad that Harry followed her back and was implementing his own plan, but annoyed that he didn't contact her sooner or try to at least hint at his plan just now. She had a feeling that this was simply a piece of the larger puzzle, and that Harry concocted something on the same scale as Dumbledore's Grand Plan. There was definitely a purpose behind his actions, but she couldn't begin to guess his motives. Harry was back to being what he was in the original timeline, an enigma. But this time, she was going to figure him out before somebody else.  
_

Dumbledore was sitting comfortably on his throne of a chair, his fingers pressed together as he concentrated. The various gadgets and gizmos in his office were whizzing and puffing, the numerous portraits were snoring softly, and Fawkes was cooing quietly on his stand. The current situation filled him with consternation, but it was salvageable. "So Harry Potter is essentially outside of our control?"

Hagrid gulped and said, "Yes. He appears to be entirely independent and self confident. I noticed he is very charismatic and perceptive, and that he was hiding some sort of agenda behind his ever changing mask. Something about him seems unnatural. I can't place it, but I get the weirdest feeling of deja vu around him. Almost as if we'd already done all of those things. And that's not the worst of it Albus."

"Oh? Go on," said the old man serenely. The larger man looked much more nervous. When Dumbledore acted suddenly happy when receiving bad news, he was most certainly close to blowing a gasket. He opened his mouth, but no sounds came out of his mouth whatsoever, almost as if he'd forgotten how to speak. Dumbledore's eyes started twinkling even more as he impatiently gesticulated for his lackey to continue the report.

"He apparently was granted access to the Peverell Vault, sir. It seems that he fulfills some archaic criteria that haven't been met in centuries. And Albus... it's been gaining interest the entire time..." said Hagrid. Hagrid audibly gulped as Dumbledore did something that truly frightened him. He smiled. Though that might not sound so bad, it actually showed to those that knew him, that he was quite close to exploding.

"The Peverell Vault you say? The Peverell family was descended from Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor, which means that Harry now has influence over the Board of Governors. He can cast two votes, of the four..." The Founders themselves acted as the original Board of Governors, voting on key issues regarding the school. Over time, the appointment of a Headmaster somewhat nullified their power, but they could vote to override a Headmaster with a unanimous vote. And Harry now having two votes for himself... He would need Harry on his side soon, otherwise the boy could make his life hell. "Are you _trying_ to ruin everything?" asked Dumbledore silkily.

Hagrid gulped, but decided that enough was enough. He was seriously getting tired of Dumbledore's shit. "Why would I intentionally betray you? I've spent nearly five decades pretending to be mentally incompetent. Do you know what its like to have your mental acuity insulted and demeaned without being able to respond in kind? I've sacrificed the majority of my life for you, throwing away my education and my wand... and for what? Age is not an excuse for being a pretentious and condescending snob!"

"Hagrid, calm down. I've had to act like I'm slipping into the senility of old age so as not to arouse suspicion to our cause. How do you think I feel having my authority and sanity questioned on an almost daily basis? Its annoying as fuck. And even worse, my wand isn't working properly for me anymore!" said Dumbledore.

Hagrid just stared and said, "But I've seen you do extraordinary magic with that wand just this morning."

"No Hagrid, I'm just extraordinary. This wand is acting no different than my first wand, yet it was so much more powerful a decade ago. Nobody has noticed because I myself am incredibly gifted in the arcane arts, but its power is waning. Its almost as if its allegiance has gone to another master, yet that's impossible. Nobody has bested me in combat ever, yet..." Realizing that he just gave in to the temptation to cause an arbitrary tangential transition, Dumbledore continued, "Harry will make my life more difficult than it needs to be, of that I'm sure."

"Yes, he could interfere with the educational system immensely, but that's not all. He is technically now the scion of Houses Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Peverell, and Potter. All of those are Most Ancient and Noble Houses, which gives him power over the Wizengammot. The fact that three of those Houses haven't had anybody voting for them in the past few centuries could shift the scales of power from any one faction to another," said Hagrid.

"I'm aware of that Hagrid," said Dumbledore with a happy lilt to his voice. Hagrid shuddered, knowing he just annoyed Dumbledore even more. "I am, after all, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengammot. This could either be a nightmare, or a boon. I think we should try to get him on our side. He can still be a weapon for the Light, just not in the literal way that I initially planned on..."

Hagrid hesitantly said, "Also, he took several artifacts out of the Peverell Vault, but I wasn't allowed to enter with him so I couldn't tell you what he removed. I'd recommend letting Alastor Moody take a look. That eye of his shouldn't have a problem looking through Potter's chest."

Dumbledore sighed and said, "Hagrid, who's the leader? I am, not you. Stop trying to run things, it irks me. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?"

Hagrid nodded, giving Dumbledore the grubby package. Dumbledore opened it, and peered at its contents. Nodding to himself, he took out a blood red ruby and smiled. "It seems that you're capable of properly doing things after all," said the older of the men. Hagrid frowned, but kept his mouth shut. "Thanks for this troubling report. I will think on it. For now, leave me alone." Troubled, he began to reminisce about the night they found Harry...

_A sharp pop rung out in the darkness of the early morning. Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, and Rubeus Hagrid appeared in the rubble of a formerly magnificent lakeside manor. "So Tom was successful in destroying the first child of prophesy," said Dumbledore solemnly. If the wreckage was anything to go by, Voldemort went all out to snuff the infant's life out. All hope for the Light was now lost. Britain would undoubtedly fall into dark anarchy within the month, ruled by an evil despot that no longer appeared to be fully human._

_"No!" shouted Sirius with tears running down his face. "James! Lily!" He turned to them and said, "I'm going to kill Peter," before disapparating. There was no stopping the young Mr. Black, and Mr. Pettigrew would likely be dead before the sun rose. Dumbledore thought about how he should've waited longer, for more evidence, before running off like that._

_But his musing was cut off when they heard a beautiful, wondrous sound. The wailing of a distressed baby gradually grew louder as the child woke up, echoing eerily through the misty darkness. "Could it be?" asked Hagrid with awe heavy in his voice. "Has Harry Potter somehow survived the assault of the Dark Lord?" The mere thought of such a preposterous claim made Albus almost scoff, but the ghostly caterwauling of the child was steadily increasing in volume. It was almost as if Voldemort wanted them to get their hopes up. That was the sort of inhuman cruelty that Tom was capable of, but something told Dumbledore that his friend was somehow right._

_The moved cautiously through the destroyed home, searching for a baby boy. The Half Giant's speculation was proven correct as they neared a baby's crib, the only piece of furniture left intact despite everything else being torn asunder. "Merlin..." muttered the old man as he stared wistfully at the one year old. "Is that..." he began as he moved the child's hair off of its forehead. A lightning bolt shaped scar was visible, etched into existence slightly over the left eye. When his finger brushed against the unnatural pockmark, a strange image entered his mind. An eyeball made of fire exploded across his vision, but disappeared just as suddenly as it came._

_"A curse mark..." whispered Hagrid. They both knew exactly how limited Tom Riddle's spell repertoire became once he began dabbling in the dark arts. "But the only spell You-Know-Who would use is the Killing Curse," the Half Giant stated in stunned absolution. Dumbledore was still studying the disfigurement with keen interest, but nodded along with Hagrid's observations, wondering how such a helpless child could possibly survive such powerful dark magic. He activated his magesight, causing his eyes to begin glowing ethereal blue. He gasped in shock at what his magically fortified ocular abilities unveiled. Before Hagrid could even ask what was so surprising, the elderly wizard started laughing. It started off low and quiet, but gradually got louder in an exaggerated crescendo and made Hagrid all the more curious._

_"Lily Potter has got to be one of the most gifted witches of the entire century!" exclaimed the headmaster of Hogwarts with obvious delight. "She actually did it!" he said, laughing hysterically. The sheer ridiculousness of her plan, and the fact that it actually worked, tickled the man despite the somber occasion._

_"Professor Dumbledore, what's so funny about this situation?" asked Hagrid, startled by his mentor's behavior. The situation hardly called for mirth in the large man's opinion. But then again, Dumbledore wasn't the sort to follow social decorum on such matters._

_"Well Hagrid, let me tell you something. My mentor was under the belief that the balance between Light and Dark was beginning to tip in the scale of the Dark. He taught me that I should try to bring more power to the Light side of magic, and so I began by doing something unorthodox. I began to breed the perfect Light Wizards. That's why I played matchmaker, placing the most gifted people together. James and Lily, Alice and Frank... That was how I planned to bring about peace and prosperity," replied the old man._

_"So Harry is bred to be stronger than the average wizard?" asked Hagrid._

_"Well yes, but that's only a part of it. I purposefully cut those unworthy of Light from their lives. I'm talking about Severus and Peter. A quick confundus charm here, a potion of bad luck there... Well, I gave them over to the Dark Lord. I intended to use them to plant misinformation, make Voldemort paranoid, maybe even sabotage some of their plans. But then Severus overheard the prophesy," said Dumbledore._

_"The prophesy that had something to do with either Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom?" queried the large man. Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling with their magesight._

_"Yes. Professor Trelawney had a legitimate experience upon entering the Hog's Head. Severus heard, and before I could route him, he disappeared into the night. He told his master what he heard, and Voldemort began to hunt the Potters and Longbottoms down respectively. I hid them both under the Fidelius Charm. Unfortunately, they both decided to use Peter Pettigrew as their Secret Keepers."_

_Hagrid visibly bristled, "And why would you let that rat stay amid the Order if you knew he was a traitor to begin with?"_

_Dumbledore sighed and said, "I was using him as an unwitting double agent. I honestly believed that the Potters to use Sirius Black and the Longbottoms would use Arthur Weasley, but apparently they thought their choices were too obvious so they chose someone nobody would ever expect: Peter. They named their own Secret Keepers after I placed the charm and left... otherwise I would've stepped in earlier."_

_"So how did you discover this now?" questioned Hagrid._

_"The bodies of Gideon and Fabian Prewitt. Their little sister, Molly Weasley, came to me in tears roughly four hours ago. I found their tortured bodies, and Gibeon was barely alive enough to tell me through his mindless ramblings what Voldemort wanted from them, and that Voldemort brought Wormtail along with him. The brothers told him how to find out where the Potters escaped: the Longbottoms. The Dark Lord got their location from Peter, tortured them into insanity, and fed Neville to Fenrir Greyback. Then he came here, hoping to end the child of prophesy before I got wind of his actions. But it appears we're too late..." There were tears forming in the old man's glowing eyes._

_"The scale was almost totally shifted towards the darkness today. If Voldemort succeeded, then nobody would've been able to defeat him ever again." Here, Dumbledore sighed and looked down on the crying child. "I know I'm getting too old to continue the Good Fight, maybe within the next two decades I'll be on to the Next Great Adventure... I need somebody to leave my legacy for, a way for me to leave my mark on the world long after I'm gone... Someone who can vanquish darkness wherever it springs up..." They stood in silence for five minutes until Dumbledore turned to Hagrid._

_"I've come up with a plan. A terrible plan nonetheless, but a plan all the same. Harry Potter will become the ultimate weapon for the Light, shaped through misery," said Dumbledore. "I will lead him down the hardest path. If he isn't strong enough, he will be broken, a shell of what he could have been. But if he perseveres through the pressure and heat of the life I have in mind, he will be forged into the greatest instrument of war that the Light will ever know."_

_Hagrid nearly choked on his beard. "But he's just a baby-"_

_"Yes. Morality is something I've long since had an epiphany on. It seems to me that evil and good were subjective terms, their connotation entirely dependent upon context and consequences. There is, however, a definitive difference between dark and light. Dark is chaos, change, and destruction. Light is order, stasis, and creation. While the balance is tentative, I know that there's far more Dark in the world than Light. I've seen through these jaded eyes the atrocities committed by Death Eaters and Order Members alike to simply capture resources and move borders."_

_"But he's just a baby," repeated Hagrid, trying his best to get the point across._

_Dumbledore sighed, "War has proved to me that peace is unattainable with multiple factions, and as such, Britain needed to renew its imperialistic policies and begin conquering those around them. Only under a single flag can unity and peace be truly achieved, and anybody who gets in my way is going to be viciously kicked aside. Wizards and muggles are the same; tools to be used for the Greater Good. I would gladly sacrifice himself to further my own plans along if necessary, just as long as there's somebody left to carry the plans out."_

_"And that's why you're going to manipulate Harry into the ultimate weapon?" asked Hagrid incredulously._

_"Look, I don't want to subject the child to a harsh reality, but It's something that must be done for the Greater Good. Some people are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them. Harry is something in between. With me controlling everything, helping him spread his influence... that will be his role. I'm fine with the boy hating me as long as he takes up the mantle at the end, squashing out darkness wherever it may sprout back up. Because that's my true goal: to vanquish the shadows that engulf this world."_

_The larger man stared at his mentor for a minute, letting it all sink in. "And you just now came up with this? It seems almost as if you planned everything to create Harry from the beginning, especially with regards to Snape and Pettigrew." The Half Giant's argument did have merit. Both people that Dumbledore admitted to manipulating had played a role in the orphaning of Harry Potter. It was almost as if Fate wanted Dumbledore to come up with this plan._

_Dumbledore smiled benignly and said, "That wasn't the original purpose, as I've already stated. I really don't like to repeat myself. Do you know what the Prophesy said?" __The Headmaster sighed and continued, "From what I can gather, Voldemort and Harry must duel each other and simultaneously die. Since Harry is still alive, Voldemort must also still be alive..."_

_"So why did he choose the Potters? Why not the Longbottoms?" asked Hagrid._

_"Convenience, I think. When the Dark Lord visited the Potters first, he easily killed the patriarch of the family but Lily escaped with little Harry. Then they ended up here," said the Chief Warlock with sadness heavy in his voice._

_"But if the prophesy says that neither can die while the other survives, then where the hell is the Dark Lord?" asked Hagrid._

_"From the evidence, I'm guess that his body has been destroyed yet he lives on. Maybe he survived due to usage of a horcrux?" At the confused look on his companion's face, Dumbledore elaborated, "It is the foulest of dark magic. When you commit murder, the greatest crime against nature and humanity possible, your soul will fracture. You can then implant those soul fragments into something outside of your mind and body, tethering the soul to this realm. I don't know what Voldemort would treasure enough to house a piece of his soul, but you can rest assured that it will have numerous magical defenses."_

_"But how did Voldemort die?" asked Hagrid. But then he realized how stupid that sounded considering the Dark Lord wasn't truly dead, and rephrased his question to, "What caused his body's destruction?"_

_Dumbledore looked wistfulyl at the child and said, "Lily's sacrifice saved her son. She synthesized all of her knowledge into this defense. She created a Druidic Blood Ward but with Sumerian Glyphs. And when the Killing Curse hit the ward, it embedded one of the glyphs into the child's forehead. This is Fate/Victory, meaning that he is destined to come out of his encounter with Voldemort." Hagrid just stared at him, so he elaborated, "She used her body's blood to tie the metaspell to her genetic code, thus extending the protection to anyone closely related to her, and trapping her departing soul to fuel the enchantment so it wouldn't burden others with the magic drain. And Voldemort, in his arrogance, thought he could break through the Ward with brute strength. She was an incredibly gifted witch..."_

_Hagrid said, "I still have no idea what she did."_

_Duumbledore sighed, "Since the unforgivable curse didn't have enough power behind it to break the wards on the infant, it rebounded and destroyed the once beautiful home and the body of the attacker along with it. But as it struck the ward, before it rebounded, it happened to hit the rune for Fate/Victory and energized it with his magic. He has just contributed to his own downfall, giving the child a reason to hate him and a fated victory over a prophesied battle. Just know that Lily's ingenuity and her sacrifice allowed the child of prophesy live long enough to meet his nemesis later in life."_

_"So now we need to worry about the Dark Lord somehow getting his hands on a new body?" asked Hagrid._

_Dumbledore nodded. "But it would be much easier to simply destroy his horcrux as quickly as possible. I vow to help Harry destroy that horcux since he's the only one capable of truly ending the Dark Lord. And then after Voldemort, all other forms of Darkness that threaten the Light. I have an idea of how to go about doing that, but it may take some time to get everything together..."_

_"How exactly do you plan on making the child so great though? What could possibly temper him to become the ultimate weapon?" questioned Hagrid._

_"Well, first we'll need to gain this child's allegiance. Nothing inspires loyalty like kindness and being saved, but what to save this child from?" asked Dumbledore. An idea sprouted forth rather effortlessly from Hagrid._

_"First he would require a lifetime of misery and ignorance, easily caused by being removed from the wizarding world altogether, possibly placed in the care of his aunt Petunia and her rather vulgar husband Vernon," said the large man._

_"But how to justify removal of the child from magical society?" asked Dumbledore. But he quickly thought up the answer to his own question, "To keep him away from fame would be a good reason, but we'd need to substantiate that claim by spreading the rumors of the Dark Lord's demise by a baby... and the first documented case of surviving the killing curse in modern history... Yes, that could work..."_

_"After all those years of abuse, you'll need to reclaim Harry and indoctrinate him to the wizarding world, filling in him an aversion to dark magic and affinity to Gryffindor aspects like bravery, chivalry, and overall stupidity. Knowing that his parents were in Gryffindor would certainly help things along, but immersion with the Weasleys would practically cement the kid as a prideful member of his own house. And I think we could even get the Weasleys' support on this. They're pregnent with a daughter finally? Why not promise them a marriage contract to the holder of the Potter Estate? That's quite a lot of money..." said Dumbledore._

_With magesight, Dumbledore could see the latent spiritual energy overflowing from the child's soul could potentially surpass his own, and the child's mental faculties were already pretty advanced for an infant. "I know how to make him stronger. If we hinder him while he's developing with limiters on the child's magical core, blocks on his mental faculties, and restrictions on his physical vessel, he will be much stronger later in life. Besides, can you imagine what the offspring of James Potter could do with metamorphmagus powers?" said Dumbledore._

_Pulling out his wand, he began the process with an incredibly long chant that lasted for nearly ten minutes straight. The child looked at him with unnervingly calm eyes, as if it knew what he was doing but didn't even care… as if it knew the inevitability that it would one day end him. He shivered and finished the spell and watched with immense satisfaction as the kid fell asleep in response._

_"I'm going to apparate to the Dursley home now and placate Minerva, maybe use the deluminator to darken the street. Use Sirius's motorcycle to get to Little Whinging without me helping..." And then the old man was gone, leaving the Half Giant alone with the most important child in all of wizarding Britain.  
_


	5. Signing the Contract

That night, Harry talked with Senior.

_"Hello Senior. I'm ready for whatever you're about to teach me," said Harry somewhat shyly._

_"Alright, I'll now show myself to you," said Senior. The shape of an elderly man appeared before Harry, and it looked oddly familiar to the boy. "Before we begin, I must tell you something more. I didn't tell you this earlier because I thought you'd need time to come to terms with everything else, but you seem fine so I'll go ahead and do so now. Harry, I'm you from the future. I went back in time to hopefully make your life better than mine was. I'll tell you why I came back in a few years once you've reached a certain point in my lessons. Basically, we will work on your background information about the future and magical theory most nights, and once a week work on your skills in wizarding politics but for now, let's just begin with magical theory."_

_"First I'll begin with what magic itself is. There are essentially three components to you: your body, mind, and soul. The body produces physical energy, the mind produces mental energy, and the soul produces spiritual energy. Your physical and spiritual energy automatically mix together creating Mana, or Life Force, and this is what is used to fuel magic. Mental energy, more commonly referred to as Will, is used to direct the flow of Mana," said Senior._

_"Alright, so I use my mind to control my body and soul?" asked Harry._

_"Pretty much, though it can get much more complicated than that. There are many characteristics to consider about your Mana. The two that are the most important are amount and potency. Your Will will affect your control, affinities, and recovery rate of Mana," said Senior._

_"I basically understood all of that with the exception of affinities. What do you mean by that?" asked Harry._

_"To tell you that, I'll need to explain the ancient schools of magic that have been lost over the centuries. Restoration allows you to heal and fortify living things with magic, Conjuration allows you to summon creatures and equipment temporarily, Alteration allows you to change the world around you, Destruction allows you to damage things around you with elements, and Illusion lets you manipulate the mind of your enemy. You will have an affinity to a certain school which will make it easier to master that style of magic, but harder to master the others. Since I'm you from the future, I already know that your affinity is Destruction magic, specifically fire based. However, elemental magic is incredibly advanced. I'm going to teach you the basics for each field of magic, taking about a week in each."  
____

A week later, Harry Potter found himself in Gringotts yet again. This time, Vernon Dursley was with him. It took a lot of threatening, blackmailing, extorting, and overall unpleasantness for Harry to convince the fatty to come, but he was there. "What the hell are those things?" asked the before-mentioned man, referring to the numerous goblins going about their day in the bank. All of them turned and stared at the muggle with dislike etched on their inhuman faces, and Harry decided to placate them all.

"Vernon, shut up." Several nearby goblins snickered at the boy's manhandling of the older man, and Vernon looked close to throwing a bitch fit because of his wounded ego. Not that he cared about the opinions of freaks and monsters, but he didn't like being talked to in such a rude manner. However, Harry only needed to raise his eyebrow, conveying his displeasure at the behavior of his overweight relative, to get the man to deflate like a popped balloon. Harry, with Vernon in tow, approached a nearby teller and said, "I'm here to sign a marriage contract. Where should I go?"

The goblin behind the counter said, "Mr. Potter, Ragnok himself will be overlooking the signing of this contract. You need only enter his office and wait for the other party to arrive. They will be with you shortly." Nodding, Harry pulled his sneering uncle towards the goblin king's place of business. They followed Griphook for a few minutes before stopping before the large black doors. Now that he was paying attention, he could see images etched into the stone of great battles during each and every goblin rebellion. It looked like the king would rather make war on the Ministry than do business with it, but didn't have much of a choice in the matter at the moment. That would soon change.

Mr. Dursley shivered when the foreboding black doors swung open, revealing the king's incredibly treasure laden office. Vernon's eyes nearly bugged out at the sheer amount of wealth before his eyes. Harry indifferently entered, though did roll his eyes at the antics of his estranged uncle. "Ragnok, nice to see you. And here's my uncle. He'll be signing the contract," said Harry. Ragnok would've had raised eyebrows at the statement if goblins had such things. Before he could respond, Harry continued, "Yeah, he's been my guardian since I was one." The forcefulness of the comment wasn't lost on the goblin king, who gave a feral grin to show his amused understanding.

"Well this will be an interesting contract signing," said Ragnok with barely controlled barks of laughter close to breaking out from him. At that moment, Mr. Chang and Cho entered the office, escorted by Griphook. Mr. Chang nodded at Harry and said, "Alright, let's get a look at the contract before we sign it." Everybody bent over to read the piece of parchment that Ragnok pulled out upon the entry of the remaining party. It basically said that Harry and Cho were getting married with the consent of their respective guardians and would follow basic fidelity laws. It seemed pretty straight forward.

Cho took the proffered quill first and signed her name, her signature carving into her arm and blood appearing where the quill struck the parchment. She didn't cry out, which earned her a look of respect from Ragnok. Apparently most humans were predisposed with an aversion to pain that is hard to overcome, and goblins respected such willpower. They were a warrior race after all. Then Mr. Chang signed the contract, formally giving the marriage his stamp of approval. He no longer had any claims to Cho whatsoever.

Now, twisted and archaic though it may be, Harry had guardianship over her. Wizarding laws regarding marriage were quite strange. Next Harry signed his name, not even twitching from the ensuing pain of carving his own name into his flesh. Vernon appeared to be severely appalled by such a barbaric practice as he was about to commit to, but quickly decided to get it over with as soon as possible. He took the quill and also signed his name. Unfortunately, the blood that made up his name evaporated away before he was even finished signing his name. In annoyance, Vernon angrily asked, "What gives?"

Ragnok, knowing what Harry's game was the entire time, said, "You are not Harry's guardian."

"Of course I'm Harry's guardian, I've been taking care of the little shit for the past decade! Now tell me what's going on!" yelled Vernon.

Ragnok sighed and said, "The blood quill in conjunction with the enchantment on this parchment make the contract binding. By signing your name, you were verifying both your identity and relationship to the hopefully betrothed. Since your name won't stay, it means that you're either lying about one or the other, whether intentionally or not. But your identity was confirmed as soon as you walked through the doorway into the bank, your magical signature corresponded with the given identity."

"So what are you trying to say?" asked Mr. Chang. Cho, it seemed, finally figured out what Harry wanted from the beginning.

"Vernon Dursley is not the guardian of Harry James Potter. At least, not the Gringotts approved guardian. Actually, according to Harry's file with us, his guardian is Sirius Orion Black," said Ragnok.

"The convicted mass murderer?" asked Mr. Chang. "How would he still have any rights to Harry? Being found guilty would remove all rights!"

Ragnok grinned and said, "Its quite simple. Sirius Black was never given a trial, and subsequently never been found guilty. He was taken directly to Azkaban, a major oversight by Bartemius Crouch Senior it seems. That means that, for now, this marriage cannot happen since his guardian hasn't signed. The only way for that to happen would be for Sirius Black to be given a trial. If he's found innocent, he can sign the paper and you'll both be betrothed. If he's guilty, his guardianship will be transferred to Mr. Dursley here, who can then sign for him."

Silence greeted his words. Vernon was seething in rage at having to deal with his psychotic nephew for no reason for such a long time, Mr. Chang was immediately contemplating the easiest way for this marriage to continue, Harry was incredibly excited that a plan with so many variables came out the way he wanted, Cho was wondering whether that was the only reason for Harry's interest in marriage, and Ragnok was amused at the proceedings. Harry Potter certainly made the goblin chieftain's life much more entertaining over the past few days.

"It looks like we'll have to appeal to the Wizengammot for Sirius's trial before this marriage can go through," said a tired looking Mr. Chang. Harry knew that although the Chang's didn't have a seat on the legislative body, they still had enormous influence. In that respect they were just like the Malfoys. That's one of the reasons that he contacted them in the first place.

Everything was going according to plan...  
_

Minister Fudge was sitting in his office, having a pleasant cup of tea when Headmaster Dumbledore's head suddenly popped out of his fireplace. "Cornelius, I need to speak with you about something urgent," said the aging wizard. The Minister numbly nodded his head and, out of habit, began spinning his hat rapidly in his hands. The illustrious Chief Warlock appeared in his office looking rather haggard. "Minister, we have an urgent matter," said Dumbledore.

"What do you mean?" asked Fudge. His eyes were wide in surprised fear, having never had Dumbledore unexpectedly contact him before.

"Someone is going to try and get the convicted mass murderer Sirius Black out of Azkaban. They are launching an investigation and finding planted evidence that they will use in a court of law to get him exonerated. I don't need to tell you what sort of damage that lunatic could do if freed, or how badly the Ministry's image would be shaken if he got out. We need to do something quick!" said Dumbledore. He knew what Harry's aim was, and needed to stop the child from gaining too much power before Dumbledore could influence him. Since Sirius was the easiest avenue for Harry to do just that, he would remove that route.

"What? Who would do such a thing? And what do you propose I do?" asked the Minister. The man was so scared of the situation, so vain in his attempt to keep public opinion, corrupt enough to make shady deals, yet stupid enough to never notice that he was being manipulated. The perfect figurehead to a puppet government. Everyone knew the Wizengammot held all the power.

"We need to keep Black in prison by _any means necessary_. It wouldn't be too difficult for a dementor's handler to not keep it on a tight enough leash around Black's cell. And if it were to _kiss_ Black, would you feel any guilt over him losing his evil soul? Even Lucius would agree to such a course of action," said Dumbledore. Lucius Malfoy would undoubtedly want to sweep Sirius's innocence under the rug just as much as him, so the nobleman would probably adhere to his way of thinking. Fudge's two most trusted advisers were Albus himself and Lucius, and they rarely agreed on anything. So if they both wanted Sirius Black to be dead or soulless...

"Thank you for letting me know about this. I will ask Lucius of his opinion and act accordingly. Hopefully this can be resolved by the end of the night," said the malleable man known as the Minister of Magic. With a tight nod, the old man left the place as quickly as he came. Had Fudge been paying attention, he'd have realized that Dumbledore smelled exactly like Polyjuice Potion.  
_

Once they were back at Number Four Privet Drive, Vernon yelled, "Pack your things now!" Harry just raised his eyebrow like he normally did, but his uncle wasn't having any of it. One moment Harry was standing defiantly to the much larger man, the next he was sprawled on the floor. It took a few moments for what just happened to finally make sense in his shocked brain. Vernon Dursley hit him. Hard. Harry was flat on his back, staring up into the suddenly fearful eyes of his uncle.

All thought, upon realization of what just happened, came to a standstill. Nobody knew how Harry would react, himself included. The sting of the blow took even longer to register. A lone tear came out of Harry's left eye, and Vernon Dursley took that as permission to continue hitting his nephew. The first hit simply showed that Harry broke the last straw. The next signified that a dam of emotions was finally broken and the man was more than willing to direct it at Harry. It started as an accident, but he quickly realized that once Harry recovered, the boy's retribution would be terrible. So he came to a single conclusion with the tiny brain of his: the boy wouldn't recover from this. Harry was crying out as the enraged man began letting out years of frustration and fear out on his tiny body. Harry wasn't as small as Senior was at the same age, but he was still very slim.

Dudley and Petunia watched in confusion as the overweight man continued pounding on Harry's increasingly frail body. Tears were rolling out of his eyes as bones cracked, skin became discolored, and blood started appearing on Vernon's hands. Harry didn't know whether the blood was from Harry's face or his uncle's knuckles, probably some combination of the two.

While Harry knew fairly powerful magic, he'd never actually used anything other than Legilimency and Occlumency outside of his mindscape. He was capable of using advanced martial arts, but was sucker punched and continuously attacked directly after. The only thing keeping the family from abusing him for years were his flimsy abilities with metamorphmagus. He could change his hair color, but that was about it. He'd need to learn from Tonks how to do it at some point, but there was no coherent thought in him at the moment. He knew they were capable of harming him, yet had never actually experienced it in this life. Senior warned him not to push them too far, yet he did it anyway.

After five minutes, Petunia finally intervened and tried to calm her husband down by asking him what happened. In response, the man said, "The entire time we took care of him, provided him with clothes and meals and space, he wasn't even our obligation. We aren't his legal guardians at all! We've put up with his bullying and hounding for too long, and I've finally decided to end this. He will be out of this house tonight! I won't stand for his devious behavior any longer! I don't care that he can do magic, he will NOT BE IN THIS HOUSE ANY LONGER!"

Harry could barely move. Petunia and Dudley continued to watch the scene unfold while comprehension continued to elude them. Dursley continued, "We are moving back into the master bedroom, Dudley will be back in his own room, we will keep everything that we bought this little shit over the years, and he will leave this house and NEVER RETURN!" Harry, with his one good eye, watched the wheels turning in the spectators' heads. He coughed and some blood came out, and that brought everything home.

Petunia nodded and said, "You're correct. He needs to leave. We should drop him at a clinic or something so that he can get medical help, but after that we won't bother with him ever again." Harry was starting to lose consciousness, but distinctly felt Petunia's heel breaking his jaw. "We can't have him talking about this for a while. Because of his people, we'll need to move away to avoid unpleasantness in the future. We'll use the time it takes for him to recover to move someplace far away, someplace they won't find us..."

And as Harry finally lost it, he could've sworn he heard Dudley say, "But what about my friends, my television, my..." And then he knew no more.

_"Well Harry, I've gotta hand it to you. You just ruined your only chance at continuing the blood ward magic. You've lost an important weapon against Voldemort today, and we both know he's the more immediate threat to out plan," said Senior._

_"Thanks for berating me, it feels great on top of getting my ass handed to me by that whale of a man. Oh well. Since I'm here, I'd like to give you some unexpected news. Apparently I have access to the Peverell Vault and the Deathly Hallows because of you," said Harry._

_"I know, I experience everything you do. How many times must I repeat that?" asked Senior. "You shouldn't have their allegiance since you've done nothing to earn it. They're more likely still loyal to me. I saw the ledger, it only had Harry Potter on it. And since there's more than one Harry Potter in this world now, it could be either of us. But considering the evidence, I think it was referring to me. When I'm gone, you will likely lose access to the vault and the powers of the Deathly Hallows will all simply die off since I have no successors in this world. You have a limited amount of time to take things from the Peverell Vault, so I'd suggest returning once more and taking everything useful in there."_

_Harry's eyes widened, "What about me? I think I'm your successor! I could seriously use the Hallows to further our plans. I doubt I could do much with them with in the last few months of your existence. I need them! I-"_

_"You aren't ready for them, nor have you earned them. Maybe the Invisibility Cloak, but not the Elder Wand or Resurrection Stone. You cannot beat me in a duel when I'm trying my hardest, nor do you accept your own death yet as I did when I briefly possessed the Stone. I doubt you could even use them at all, since they owe their allegiance to me, not you. You're getting a big head, and it'll cause you to mess up big time if you don't shrink it back," said Senior._

_"I'm ready-"_

_"You are not ready. You are magically and physically powerful, but what of your emotions? The only weapon powerful enough to defeat Voldemort is love, and you don't yet feel it, not like you should," said Senior._

_"And why should I love? I've got knowledge of advanced magics! I've got the Peverell and Potter accounts! I've got-"_

_"The only area that you have adequate ability with is Destruction. The only Illusionary skill that you've developed to a proper level is Legilimency. Your Occlumency shields won't last long under a mental assault from Snape or Dumbledore, and everything could be ruined if they find me. You only have partial access to either accounts, your metamorphmagus abilities are lacking... all you seem to care about is offensive magic, and you've only used it inside your own mind. You do realize that you aren't nearly as powerful out there as you are in here? I've only been teaching you THEORY. Its all in your head. Yes you have an affinity for it, but you would be much better with at least some practice in the other schools. You have a month before school starts, and you need to get your shields up to par. I've been lenient so far because you're me, but I've about had it. If I don't think you're worthy, I'll flood all my memories into you and force you to feel emotions. Am I understood?" asked Senior._

_Harry was shocked. "Oh come on, I can at least fight Snape on equal ground-"_

_Senior started laughing. "How did someone so similar to me turn out so different? You are acting more like Tom Riddle than I... You're acting just like Tom Riddle... He's influencing you somehow. I can feel him lurking around, but I can't find him. You need to work VERY hard on your Occlumency shields before I leave. Without Dumbledore's restraints or my presence, he will try to take you over. And he will most likely be successful. You're about to wake up, but please take my advice..."_

Harry woke up covered in sweat, shivering in a rather cold and uncomfortable place. He was on a table surrounded by medical supplies. A friendly looking woman in her late forties suddenly came into view and smiled brightly, saying, "Good, you're finally awake. I was afraid that I'd lose you overnight. Your injuries were pretty serious, and if that nice family hadn't brought you here as soon as they did... Oh well, let's not dwell on that which hasn't come to pass. Can you sit up for me?"

Groggily nodding his head and noticing stiffness and soreness throughout his body, he slowly sat up after a grunt of pain. He tried to speak but discovered that something was forcibly clamping his mouth shut. "Oh yes, you won't be able to talk or eat solid foods for about eight weeks. Your jaw was cracked in three places, but that isn't the worst that's happened to you. You had fractures in multiple ribs and your right arm. You also had a ruptured appendix, but I've done everything I could to help you. If you have money, I'd suggest getting physical therapy. When you can talk, I'd like you to alert the authorities to whoever it was that mugged you. There have been quite a few violent crimes in the area as of late..."

Harry laid back down, content to listen to the nice woman ramble on and on about how crime rates, terrorist plots, natural catastrophes, and engineering disasters were rising. He was too loopy from the pain killers at the moment to notice that such events always seemed to preclude the various military conflicts of the wizarding world. He fell into a light sleep, just enough to make time pass by quickly, yet not enough to continue his conversation with Senior. About a week was passed in such fashion, until his magic completely healed him of his uncle's abuse. He left a note thanking the woman for looking after him, pulled off all the bandages and casts that he was wearing, and slipped silently into the night. He had four weeks before September 1st would be upon him. He didn't even realize that it was his birthday.  
_

The Malfoy patriarch stared at the letter in his hand. He wasn't surprised that the incompetent ponce known as the Minister of Magic was asking him for help as that was one of the major reasons behind all of the generous 'donations' the family gave the man over the last few years. No, he was surprised that somebody was investigating Sirius Black and wanted him freed, and Dumbledore's advise on the matter was staunchly against his public facade of a benevolent grandfatherly figure.

Lucius knew that Sirius Black was innocent, but not many other people did. If the person behind the investigation believed Sirius was guilty of his crimes and were still trying to exonerate him, that meant they were either looking for revenge or a new supporter of the dark side and as such somebody Malfoy should get into contact with. There was also the possibility that they knew he was innocent. Either way it went, he had a feeling that this whole situation had something to do with the enigmatic Potter child.

There were too many things happening in the world lately for it not to involve the child. Deciding that, for once, Dumbledore was correct, Lucius quickly wrote his reply to the inept head of the government's executive branch. Sirius Black was going to have a run in with a dementor or two by the end of the night. Smirking, the man laid back down in his comfortable bed next to his beautiful wife Narcissa. Things were starting to get interesting in the wizarding world again, and Lucius could tell it was only going to escalate.

The small plans he had to humiliate the blood traitor spawn Nymphadora as a present for his beautiful Narcissa would have to wait for now. Now, he had to pull the strings of the corrupt government and hopefully bring about a small victory for the Dark.  
_

As Harry moved swiftly through the darkened streets of London, he found himself regretting purchasing the most expensive silk robes that he could. Between his school supplies being about a hundred galleons and his seven accromantula silk robes, he'd used up all of it. He honestly didn't expect to end up needing any for another year. He bought his necessities at the time. And now those 'necessities' seemed like pointless frivolous spending in hindsight. He needed a place to stay and food to eat, yet had no money. Luckily he had everything he bought in his magical trunk which was in his pocket and he could sell some of his robes, but he shook his head at his own stupidity. He could think ahead over twenty steps when it came to political maneuvering or a chess game, but this one screw up could've ruined all of his plans.

Since he couldn't use the Knight Bus without money, he was forced to walk through the shadier parts of the city to get to his destination. There were all sorts of unsavory people out at such a late hour, so he kept his head low as he made his way to the Leaky Cauldron. He was fortunate not to run into any trouble, and quietly entered the pub. Quickly deciding how to adapt to his current situation, Harry made his way to Knockturn Alley.

There wasn't a single person out and about in the shadowy streets of Diagon Alley. A chill went down his spine at the loneliness he felt, but he continued going to his destination. Knockturn Alley was much more crowded than its more popular competitor, though it still made Harry uncomfortable. He wasn't feeling too confident in lieu of recent events, so he pulled the hood further, obscuring his face even further in shadow. None of the street's residents paid him any attention as he approached the pawn shop Borgin and Burkes. It was always open at all hours of the night to anybody willing to get cheated out of a proper deal, and Harry was a prime example of such a person.

He nervously entered the shop, setting a bell near the door lightly chiming to signify his entry. An old man, Harry presumed to be Borgin, approached him and said, "Welcome to Borgin and Burkes young man. Are you buying or selling?" The guy's accent reminded Harry of the merchant in Resident Evil 4 (I don't care that it came out in 2004 and this takes place in 1991, its just how I picture it), and he wondered if he could get the man to say, 'What're ya buyin'?'

"I'm selling, though I may peruse your wares and buy something if I find it... worthy of my attention. How much will you pay for accromantuala silk robes?" Harry spent one hundred and ten galleons on each and, knowing Borgin, expected to sell it for far less than he bought it.

"Seventy galleons apiece sounds sufficient to me. Tell me, where did somebody so in need of monetary compensation come by such fine apparel?" asked Borgin.

Harry smirked and said, "Seventy galleons sounds appropriate to me. I'm willing to part with six." The man nodded, so Harry pulled out his trunk, opened it, removed the items he was selling, shrunk it back down, and placed it back in his pocket. "Here you are. That'll be four hundred and twenty galleons please."

The man reluctantly parted with his gold. Harry began to curiously browse the store, noting the Hand of Glory at five thousand galleons and Vanishing Cabinet for twenty thousand galleons. "It seems that I don't have enough money to purchase anything noteworthy at this time, though you can rest assured knowing that I'll be back with adequate funds." Borgin nodded, and Harry left his establishment. Harry quickly made his way back to the Leaky Cauldron, where he paid to rent out a room for the next four weeks.  
_

The goblin council was meeting to discuss recent events. There were twelve clan heads and Ragnok himself sitting at a round table in an undisclosed location. The Ironhide clan head began speaking, "We cannot condone this. Everybody knows that the Chinese Triads are the only direct competitors with the Goblin Triads. Should the Chang family unite with Harry Potter, the boy will be a target."

The Stronghammer clan head replied, "And how would that be a bad thing? We all know that he's the only obstacle to the Dark Lord, and he has promised us greater rights once he becomes the leader of the new regime. He isn't dead despite what the Ministry would have us believe, because we would certainly know. The magic protecting the Gaunt Family Vault is still active, so they must still have a direct descendant still alive. This proves that he's still alive. My clan personally believes in his survival."

The Skullcrusher clan head stated, "Everyone knows the Dark Lord was unlikely to live up to his words, of that I'm certain. He would have slaughtered our people once he had power without a single thought. We need to protect Harry from as many enemies as possible."

Ragnok sighed and said, "So we need to discuss whether the Dark Lord is still alive or not. Those who believe that he's alive, raise your blades!" Nine of the assembled twelve chieftains brought their decorative weapons in the air to signal their agreement.

"Alright, so the goblin people officially believe that the Snake Heir is alive. How do we proceed? Do we side with him, remain neutral, or young Harry? All those in favor of forming an alliance with the younger human, raise your blades!" This time only five showed their affirmative. "All those in favor of neutrality?" This time three rose their blades. "So it's a tie between swearing allegiance to Harry or Voldemort. This time, neutrality has been taken off the table. This time raise your blades if you wish to support the Dark Lord!" Six raised their blades while six remained stock still. Ragnok sighed and said, "So I must break the tie? I choose to side with Harry."

There were groans of anger from those that wanted to support the Dark Lord, the loudest of which was Stronghammer, but Ragnok ignored them. "And so now we must decide our course of action. We cannot have Harry as a target for the Triads. This means that the marriage between Cho Chang and Harry Potter must not occur. I propose that we wait until the exoneration of Sirius Black before we split the betrothed. With his godfather free, Harry will be a much more powerful individual in human politics and could make things quite a bit easier, and I believe that this was the only reason he entered the contract."

"So are we to simply just wait around?" asked Ironhide. "I think we should begin raising an army again, though we should keep it secret from the Ministry. If they found out, they would believe us to be planning another rebellion and destroy our forces before they were worthy of battle. We'll need to create a conscription for soldiers and metal subsidies to increase weapon and armor production." Ragnok smiled at the proactive tribal leader. Ironhide was always an ally of his in anything.

"All those in favor of Ironhide's plan, raise your blade!" yelled Ragnok. All twelve blades were pointed skyward, signifying the creation of the first goblin army in nearly two centuries. "Mine comrades, we are now at war with the Dark Lord!" There were excited bellows and shouts, guttural growls and roars, and approving barks and yips from the assembled goblins. Big things were about to happen in the world, and Ragnok would be one of those leaders of change.


	6. The Investigation's Fallout

The figure of Albus Dumbledore appeared out of the fireplace, an insane smile upon his face. He walked into the Leaky Cauldron with a spring to his step. He quickly entered a random room, walked over to the bed, and began muttering to himself, "Master, I did it!"

An eerie voice filled the room and said, "Good job Quirrel. Lord Voldemort always rewards those that do him well..." And slowly, the old man of Albus Dumbledore morphed back into Quirinus Quirrel. "You followed Potter around while disillusioned and found out what his plan was... And then you used Polyjuice Potion to impersonate the muggle loving fool... You will be my right hand once my body is reformed..." They both knew that Fudge would never mention what just happened to Dumbledore, and even if he did, there would be no evidence linking Quirrel to the discussion.  
_

The omnipresent cold and darkness was typical in his cell at Azkaban, but Sirius Black would not succumb to the madness that claimed so many others. The idea of his innocence was what had helped him live through the fear, anger, and sorrow that he was constantly subjected to for the past ten years. Being in his animagus form helped alleviate some of the emotional turmoil that pervaded the prison, but it was his conviction that one day justice would be served that kept him alive and sane for so long.

But when the coldness, darkness, and emotions started growing in intensity, he knew something was wrong. At least three dementors were nearby, close enough for him to hear their rattling breaths sucking the happiness and warmth from the air around him. So they were finally going to take his soul away, huh? Well, he wouldn't go down without a fight. Lack of a wand, malnutrition, and a blossoming insanity notwithstanding, Sirius morphed into the grim he nicknamed Padfoot and waited for them to open his cell door. This would be his one chance to escape. If he failed, a fate worse than death awaited him. If he succeeded, he could finally be there for his godson.

The thought of little baby Harry was what spurred Sirius Black to continue. The thick iron door of his stone cell slowly opened, sending shivers of fear and cold down his canine spine. The paltry light leaking in through the sliver of fresh air was a welcome change to the dismal darkness he was used to, but it burned his eyes. The starlight on this cloudy new moon night was too bright for him, so he closed his watering eyes and used his advanced senses of smell and hearing to detect his enemies and surroundings.

The dark robed figures ghosted eerily into his room, searching for a human. Luckily they weren't smart enough to realize that he was now a dog, and he slipped right past them, out into the chilly corridors of Britain's maximum security prison. He quietly padded his way out the prison. Without looking back, he hightailed it out of there at full speed, jumping into the icy waters of the North Sea. He would be with Harry soon, no matter what.  
_

Harry woke up when sunlight came in through the window of his room and went right into his eyes. Mumbling incoherently about the unfairness of mornings, Harry groggily got out of bed and approached the bathroom. He enjoyed brushing his teeth and washing his hair and body the muggle way because it was more satisfying. It felt more refreshing to work hard and smell the mint in his breath or the shampoo's scent wafting around him.

He quickly ate a late morning breakfast compliments of Tom the barkeeper, before entering Diagon Alley. He saw Gringotts and was going to enter the bank to look around some more through the Peverell Vault, but the sign to Lianshang Alley caught his attention. Realizing that he hadn't talked to the Changs in over a week, he decided to visit them and apologize for his silence. Within minutes he was walking through the colorful and crowded streets of the Chinese district, letting his mind wander as he thought about his plan. It was still in the early stages, but he felt he was making great progress on several fronts.

Soon he was standing outside of the Chang compound again, and the same servant girl smiled, saying, "Please follow me inside. This is an unexpected visit by the way. Its proper social etiquette to call ahead before you arrive, but I guess you wouldn't know that growing up with muggles. Its funny how I know more about the wizarding world than you do, yet you have far more power than I ever will. Please wait here while I alert the family to your presence." He nodded toward the chatty servant and allowed a small smile to appear on his face. She was certainly a charming girl. He would have to keep her in mind...

Mr. Chang came out of a nearby doorway and said, "Harry, isn't this a surprise? What are you doing here?" Harry could see the obvious excitement in the man's face, and his small smile began to grow a tiny bit.

"I'm here to get to know my future fiance. While I'm waiting for Cho, tell me, how are you doing?" Harry tilted his head to the side, allowing an expression of polite curiosity to show up. He was curious, but didn't like asking invasive questions if he could help it.

"Well, I've been investigating your godfather's case, and it appears that he may be innocent of all charges that have been placed on him. And even if he were, the gross miscarriage of justice in him not having a trial should get him pardoned. In fact, he has rights to reparations, specifically monetary compensation. Every year he spent in Azkaban is equivalent to roughly a hundred thousand galleons. He spent ten years, so he's looking at a little more than a million galleons. I know to the head of a Most Ancient and Noble House that isn't a whole lot, but most people could have their grandchildren retire with that much money," said Mr. Chang.

Harry was about to reply when Cho came out of the same doorway and said, "Hi Harry. Would you accompany me to my room? We could get to know each other a lot better in private."

Mr. Chang smirked and said, "Okay you two, have fun. Just don't do anything that you'd regret me walking in on, alright?" The two teens nodded in embarrassment and made their way to her room. As they walked, Harry admired even more terracotta sculptures, porcelain vases and pots, gold and jade jewelry, and tapestries of accromantula silk. Before long, they were inside a spacious and elegantly furnished room.

"This is my bedroom. What do you think?" she asked curiously. All of her furniture was of ivory or stained glass, and the whole place was immaculate.

Grinning, Harry said, "Its quite the place. Sorry I didn't contact you earlier, I just thought it would be better to converse in person about some of the things we need to talk about." As he said this, Cho nodded and began placing privacy wards on her doors and windows.

"Alright Harry, I've got a few questions to ask you. Why did you come back, how did you come back, and why are we getting married really? I think that about covers everything that I want to discuss for now," she said, staring intently at him.

He smiled and said, "_I_ didn't come back, an older version of me did. He gives me lessons on magical theory, wizarding politics, his foreknowledge, and often gives me advice whether I want it or not. He came back because he got lost in the moment and threw himself off a precipice in his blind rage. When he ended up in my head, he decided to help me have a better life than he did. I am to prevent Voldemort from rising, humiliate and hopefully ruin Dumbledore's image, and many other minor details that aren't specific. Our marriage is one of those minor details."

Cho just stared at him and said, "You mean that you aren't Older Harry, and that he's still intact but hidden away somewhere and helping you out? Why didn't he just gift you with all of his memories like Older Cho did for me? That seems so much simpler than anything else."

"Well, apparently memories are embedded with emotions and portions of personality, and he didn't want to essentially erase me from existence. So he's been teaching me and encouraging me to learn everything of the muggle world that I could. He only has a limited amount of time, so I work as hard as I can to master what he teaches me. So far he doesn't seem to be satisfied with how I've turned out, but I will accomplish our goals," said Harry.

"I guess that makes sense, but I still think it would be easier to just gift you with memories. But anyway, how did he come back if Older Cho left before him? Wouldn't her changes have altered the future and prevented him from even being in that position?" she asked as she sat down a very comfortable looking bed. She patted the space next to her, and Harry hesitantly sat down next to her, staring into her brown eyes. It was pretty easy to tell why Senior Harry was attracted to Older Cho. Harry felt his heartbeat speed up slightly when he got closer to her.

"If I had to guess, I think they jumped from one timeline to another, essentially falling out of causality. That means that the world they left behind still exists somewhere, or more specifically some_when_. They traveled through crosstime, ending up in an alternate world that was incredibly similar to their own. Or maybe they created an entirely new world based on their memories. Reality is, after all, based on perception." She seemed to be following along with him, something most other people their age wouldn't be able to do. Apparently her older self's memories had effected her mental capacity on some level.

She grinned and asked, "You have no clue what you're talking about, do you?" At his sputtering response, she began giggling. He chuckled along with her, and found himself immensely pleased when her hand unnecessarily touched his arm. Her laughter made him feel oddly warm inside, and he felt like he could cast any spell several hundred times easily while in her presence. He wondered if that was what Senior Harry meant by love being powerful. Of course he wasn't in love, but the feeling of attraction did make him contemplate such things.

"I'm eleven years old, I don't even really know who I am. The fact that another sentient being claiming to be me from the future is also inside me just makes things even more confusing. Do I have a mental disorder, or did I go back in time and end up inside myself. The mental disorder scenario seems more plausible at first, but then I began learning magic from him... now I believe that he really is me, just a more moral version of myself. Or maybe I'm a less moral version of him. Semantics."

She laughed and said, "Alright, you've made your point Mr. Potter," before getting more serious and saying, "but what of our marriage? You kinda skirted over it."

He appraised her before saying, "What do you know of the wizarding government?"

"Basically that there are two branches to Britain's government, the executive Ministry and legislative Wizengammot. The Ministry is headed by the Minister, who is elected by the Wizengammot. The Minister chooses who the Department Heads are, and they carry out smaller tasks. The Wizengammot is half made up of elected representatives and half heads of noble houses, and they act as both the legislative and judicial body," answered Cho.

"Correct. Since the Wizengammot chooses who runs the Ministry, the former has more power than the latter. If I want to cause a political coup, I'll need to start with the Wizengammot. There are basically three major political factions: Conservative, Moderate, and Reformist. The Conservatives are what we'd consider the dark families, firm upholders of blood purity, racism and sexism, homophobia and xenophobia. The Reformists are what we'd consider light families, people like the Longbottoms, Weasleys, and Potters. Moderates are somewhere between. I myself am a radical reformist, though that comes in later."

"So far, I think I've successfully convinced Daphne Greengrass, and through her Tracey Davis and Blaise Zabini, to head to Ravenclaw. They will be easier to influence into siding with the Reformists once they take their seats in the Wizengammot. When I get your family and four others of your father's choosing to join the Wizengammot, they will likely support the Reformists. If you can't tell, I'm planning on using the Reformists to be my platform of power, much the same way that Voldemort used the Conservatives."

"Okay, but it sounds like you're giving power to Dumbledore supporters for now. Why are you giving one of your enemies power?" asked Cho. She scooted a bit closer to him, and he noticed her pupils dilating. Adrenaline was suddenly rushing through her veins, but he didn't know why.

"Because Voldemort is the more immediate threat. Last time, the Death Eaters were treated as simple criminals. I plan to have them treated as revolutionaries and have their rights as British citizens revoked. With little political clout and economic capital, Voldmort's supporters will easily fall. But during the war, I'm going to point out Dumbledore's terrible leadership. He's got three of the most time consuming jobs there are, and will begin making mistakes with the Wizengammot, Ministry, International Confederation, Board of Governors, and even Gringotts if we play our cards right."

"Alright, so once you've beaten Dumbledore and Voldemort, then what? What happens after the fact? It almost sounds like you're trying to create anarchy," breathed Cho. She was now just inches away from him, whispering as she got even closer. He gulped.

"Well that's because I am, in a sense. I plan to take over, plain and simple."

"I still don't see what this has to do with our marriage," said Cho quietly.

"A union with your family will bring more support to the Reformists, hopefully it will also help them avoid Voldemort's wrath and subsequent slaughter, and it also brought Sirius's plight to your father's attention. I don't yet have influence with the Wizengammot, but your father does. He will be very helpful in exonerating my dogfather. Plus there's also you..."

"...Me?" she whispered, barely disguised elation twisting its way into her soft voice. "What about me?"

He offered a small smile and said, "You're very beautiful, smart, cute, loyal, sexy, dependable, and hot. Have I mentioned that you're attractive?" She playfully swatted his arm as she blushed, but he continued, "We need each other to get through this. Both of us are influence by things that have yet to happen, both of us need somebody to offer us an ear that can understand our situation, and both of us could use companionship. Am I right?"

She smiled and said, "You are," before planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Neither had been in a romantic relationship in this life, so both blushed. Harry decided to kiss her cheek in response, but accidentally got the corner of her mouth. He felt his face heating up as he realized what he just did, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, her eyes started twinkling mischievously as she leaned closer to him.

He didn't know what to do. Senior never covered how to be romantic! He watched in mounting panic as she came closer, her eyes closed. Her lips started to pucker expectantly as Harry realized there wasn't anything he could do but to kiss her. And it wasn't like he didn't want to, in fact he very much would like to. But- And then all thoughts stopped as their lips brushed lightly against each other. At this point he realized that he had no clue what to do with his hands, which were just awkwardly hanging limply by his side. Deciding to test something, he placed his hands gently on her waist. At that moment she pulled away and looked at him with even more wiliness than before.

Realizing he didn't know what to do at the moment, "That wasn't what I expected when I originally set out to talk to you, but it was still a rather enjoyable experience," was the first thing Harry could say a few minutes later. She laughed merrily and flicked his nose, surprising him.

"Harry, you need to learn how to talk to girls. Especially after a first kiss as intense as that. I know my memories helped me just now, but how were you so good at kissing? You didn't practice _that_with Older Harry did you?" She stuck her tongue out when she completed her jest, making her just look even cuter than before to Harry. Deciding not to comment on such an obvious trap, he pulled her back into his arms and started kissing her some more. She sighed in contentment and they stayed that way for another ten minutes.

He never did tell her about the Dursleys.  
_

Fudge was sitting nervously behind his desk, tapping his fingers against his oak desk at a steadily increasing tempo. He would not rest easy until both Dumbledore and Malfoy were satisfied with results. They never agreed on anything before the issue of Sirius Black came up. He shivered, wondering just how bad the man must be for both of his benefactors to put aside their differences. He knew it wasn't legal or moral what he ordered done, but he was a politician; hardly anything he did was.

He was more concerned that he'd be caught giving the orders to execute somebody unofficially, something that would ruin his public image and get him kicked out of office faster than a sex scandal. He didn't really care all that much about the bureaucratic and administrative responsibilities of his post, only the accompanying power and wealth that came with being Minister. He'd only been sworn in this very year, following the retirement of Minister Bagnold. It was a close race between him and Dumbledore, despite the older man not even being in the running!

He was at first frightened that Dumbledore changed his mind and wanted his position, thus believing the advice in regards to the convicted mass murderer to be a ploy of some sort to make him look weak and stupid. However, Malfoy's assurance that this was the proper course of action somewhat mollified him. As these thoughts were swirling through his head, he took a quick swig of Hard Firewhiskey from a shot glass.

The liquid fire would make most men cough and clutch their throats in torture when not mixed in with something to dilute the acidity of the drink. But Fudge was a very hard drinker from a young age and had built up a tolerance to alcohol in general. Firewhiskey was the easiest way for him to get a pleasant buzz, though most people would be flat out drunk after a few sips.

At this moment, Amelia Bones's head appeared in his office, bringing a possibility that he hadn't even considered possible into light. "Minister, Sirius Orion Black has escaped from Azkaban!" He looked from her fiery head, to tiny shot glass in his hand, to the bottle on his desk. Abandoning the shot glass, he began chugging straight from the bottle itself. His tenure as Minister would likely be over before the month was over.  
_

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk with closed eyes as he contemplated what to do. He couldn't allow Sirius to get anywhere near Harry. The man killed an entire street of people! Of course, he was driven insane by the sight of his best friend's dead body, but that doesn't excuse him. Sirius should have kept a cool head, rather than chasing after Pettigrew and using an overpowered curse in public. There was a reason that the man was in Azkaban after all.

The fact that Harry was actively seeking to give Sirius a trial was troublesome on many levels. Did the boy believe Sirius to be innocent or guilty? If innocent, the boy was hoping to gain a supportive guardian. Not only did Sirius insane, but he did not sympathize with Dumbledore. He likely blamed the old Headmaster for allowing him to be placed in Azkaban. No matter how justified he was in his actions, he killed thirteen people, including Peter Pettigrew!

But what if Harry thought his godfather was guilty? There wouldn't be much of a point in investigating any further and trying to get the man released. Maybe the boy wanted revenge for his parents' deaths? Sirius _was_accused of betraying them to the Dark Lord until evidence against Peter Pettigrew came forward, and Harry might not have heard the true story. And what did the crime lord Jian Chang have to do with any of this? There were way too many questions that needed answered, but there was only so much time that he could stall before calling an emergency summit of the Wizengammot.  
_

That night, Harry slept soundly.

_"Well it looks like you're starting to go in the right direction, but I've made my decision. I have placed a memory in your head yet blocked it from you for now, rather than simply flooding your mind with emotionally charged memories. I believe it would kill both of us and create a hybrid between the two of us if I did that despite it being easier. Think of the memory as a failsafe in case a certain scenario should happen. Also, I'm going to begin editing the runic subroutines in your wand. Since you have barely a month before you go to Hogwarts and are going to be subject to Snape and Dumbledore constantly prodding at you with mental probes, you'll need to start working on your Occlumency. You also have Riddle to deal with, and I expect you to have a very difficult time fighting him off since he's already inside your head."_

_"Alright, I admit that I need to begin working more on defensive magic, but could you tell me how a memory would be a failsafe and what exactly you're doing to my wand? I feel like I'm missing something important," said Harry._

_"Maybe getting knocked around by our uncle wasn't such a bad thing. You're starting to admit that you aren't perfect. We might make a decent person of you yet!" exclaimed Senior in mocking enthusiasm. "Look, it won't work if I tell you early. I'll give you a hint in the form of a lesson though. You've been using magic for a while now, so can you tell me what it is? You've got a rudimentary understanding of theoretical physics and abstract thinking, so think about it. What do you hypothesize is magic?"_

_"Well, if I had to guess... I don't really know. It has all sorts of things in common with electromagnetic energy in that a magical signature has multiple wavelengths and frequencies that correspond with the amount and power of magic in spells and individuals, yet it causes changes that shouldn't be physically possible. I'd guess that it was an entirely new fundamental universal force, but it controls all other forces, substances, and even the dimensions. I honestly don't know what it is, other than it is energy of a sort," replied Harry._

_"Good. This is the key: where does the energy come from? The answer is the same place that phoenixes go. But it is hidden away in that memory, for until it is triggered you won't be worthy of such knowledge. Once you are, the memory will awaken by itself. And that is your only clue," said Senior, sternly waiting for Harry to protest about how unfair it was. His younger self surprised him by not doing what was expected of him._

_"Alright, fine. I do believe you owe me an answer about the wand though. What are you doing with it?" asked Harry._

_Senior's eyes twinkled as he said, "Its a surprise. Now about that Occlumency..."_  
_

Lucius was in the middle of being intimate with his wife for the second time that night when he got the owl. Frowning as he pulled out of Narcissa, the Malfoy patriarch pulled on his bathrobes and approached the avian courier. Sighing, he pulled the letter off of its leg and saw it was from Fudge. He felt a familiar sinking feeling in his gut as he slowly opened the letter and read its contents. He swore in anger about 'the incompetent fool' before dashing to his wardrobe and putting on robes. This surely warranted an emergency meeting of the Wizengammot, and he expected the summons within the next five minutes. Kissing his wife goodbye, he tossed the letter in a nearby trashcan before flooing to the Ministry.

Curious as to what could make her husband rush around so much, Narcissa reached in the trashcan and pulled out the wrinkled piece of parchment. There were only two words written on it, "_He Escaped."_

She smiled and said, "And so it begins..." The Dark Lord would be rising soon, allowing her to leave Lucius soon. The idiotic man was simply a pawn in the much larger game. She would be greatly rewarded for putting up with him, and her sister would be as well. A shiver of delight traveled down her spine as she thought about what her true master would do to her once he had his body back. "Soon... you'll meet your true father Draco..."  
_

Dumbledore was sitting at the designated chair of the Chief Warlock of the Wizengammot, his wand of elder in one hand and his gavel of oak in the other. "Ladies and gentlemen of this great institution, the five hundred and fourtieth emergency summit of the Wizengammot has been called into effect, making this the five thousand and thirty fourth Wizengammot meeting to date. We have all been gathered to discuss the issue of Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. How do we intend to respond to this?" said Dumbledore, a sonaris charm making his voice bounce off the stone walls effortlessly.

A man stood up and said, "We need to do something!"

Dumbledore barely kept himself from rolling his eyes though was saved from replying by Amelia Bones, who said, "Thank you for that enlightening comment, Amos. Can anybody suggest how to go about doing something in light of the situation, as Mr. Diggory has most eloquently pointed out that we should do?"

Mr. Diggory's teeth started grinding in anger as several people openly laughed at him, but it was Minister Fudge who responded, "Mr. Black is an escaped convict. If he is captured, he should be subject to the Dementor's Kiss. And I believe that his sudden brash escape may have something to do with the reemergence of Harry Potter. We all know that Mr. Black was driven insane by the deaths of the Potters, so what if he plans on kidnapping or harming the boy? I petition that we should have Dementors placed at Hogwarts for Mr. Potter's safety."

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed at the obvious ploy of the Minister's to extend Ministry influence and power over his school. "I will make the wards reject Mr. Black's magical signature so there is no need for such intense security measures," said the Headmaster with just enough of an edge to his voice to convey his anger but not enough to be considered overtly hostile.

At this moment, a woman dressed in garish pink clothes spoke up in a falsely sweet voice, "Oh but Headmaster this seems like a fairly adequate security measure. We all know that there are secret passageways to and from the school, and that the wards and wall don't extend into the ForbiddenForest. I think Dementors would be the perfect deterrent for a mad mass murderer don't you?" There were murmurs of agreement amongst the conservative side of the room.

Sighing the Chief Warlock said, "Alright, let's put it to a vote..."  
_

Harry lazily rolled out of bed once the sunlight hit his eyes. He began his daily routine of hygiene, light breakfast, and stretches before heading out for the day. His first stop would be the Peverell Vault to pick up anything interesting that he might've missed, and then clue Ragnok in about him having an older version of himself inside his head. That would be a fun story to tell.

Maybe it was the knowledge that he could now kiss a beautiful and exotic girl whenever he felt like it that was making him smile, maybe it was that he was making great progress with Occlumency that brought a spring to his step, or maybe it was the knowledge that Senior wasn't going to mind rape him into submission with emotionally charged memories. But for some unfathomable reason, he found himself incapable of hiding his smile. No matter what he tried, his stoic and apathetic facade would not take hold over him. Perhaps today he would turn over a new leaf and-

But his happy feeling quickly disappeared when he bumped into Quirrel on his way to Gringotts. The man looked irritable, especially upon seeing Harry's elation. "Hello Professor. I see you're still staying here. When will you be moving into the castle?" asked Harry. He knew Voldemort was already possessing the man because his scar was always itching in the man's presence. He wondered idly why it wasn't hurting him like it was supposed to, but didn't think asking the man would be prudent. At all.

"Most likely a week or so before the start of the semester." Quirrel said nothing more, and the awkward silence that descended over them began to feel incredibly uncomfortable to Harry. He wanted to attack Quirrel and get it over with, but how could he justify his actions? An unprovoked attack on a school teacher in broad daylight, despite there being no obvious witnesses, without a good reason wouldn't be a very good way to introduce himself to the wizarding world.

Deciding it would be better to simply walk away, Harry quickly scampered the rest of the way to his destination. The goblin guards actually saluted him on his way in, something completely unheard of. Goblins were not known for respecting wizards, or even being amicable in general. He felt his customary smirk show up on his face, though tried to keep the smug superiority away. He was trying to be a less abrasive person, but it wouldn't be an easy transition. When he arrived on the main floor, a goblin ran up to him and said, "Lord Potter, President Ragnok respectfully requests your presence in his chambers as soon as possible."

Curious, Harry said, "Are you aware of why this is?" even as he began following the goblin to the King's quarters. Their pace was brisk, but that wasn't surprising given the urgency of the goblin's request. The tiny being shook his head to signify that he didn't know the reason, and they remained quiet. Within minutes, they were standing in the president's office, his goblin escort returning to the main floor and the doors of Stygmian Iron closing behind him. "I was planning on talking to you soon anyways, but what's this about?" said Harry.

Ragnok sighed and said, "It seems that you haven't heard..." He pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet, and on the very front cover read the headline, 'Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban and wants Harry Potter's blood! Dementors to safeguard Harry Potter at Hogwarts this year!' Harry just stared at the newspaper in confusion before he realized that things were happening faster than before. He wondered briefly if this was somehow connected to his actions or this was just a random occurrance. Regardless, Ragnok continued, "This meeting could go either way depending on how you answer my next question. Do you believe Sirius Black to be innocent or guilty of his crimes? If guilty, I will provide you with an elite guard detail of our finest warriors to protect you at all moments. If innocent, we can begin trying to come out with a strategy to prove him so."

"I know for a fact that he is innocent of all charges. Besides, he should be pardoned for going so long without trial in Azkaban. It should be fairly easy to leak as much to the press. Though I must admit, this complicates things... Anyway, I came here to tell you something incredibly important. You've proven that you are a trustworthy individual, so I'm going to tell you my greatest secret," said Harry.

Ragnok shook his head, "Do not tell me this unless you're sure that you want to."

Smirking, Harry replied, "I assure you that I want to tell you this. You could be a powerful ally in the coming trials. Alright, here I go. In the year 2060, I went back in time. Or at least, my mind did. That version of me resides in my head, teaching me things and giving me advice. He molded me into who I am today, though he wants me to be less of a... well he wants me to change. I know how things occurred in his timeline since he told me, but I'm changing things already."

Ragnok just stared at him for a few minutes before saying, "You're serious? At first I thought you were lying but we goblins have learned how to discern the truth from wizards over the years to prevent bad deals. You truly believe what you're saying, which suggests either that you're crazy or that you're telling the truth. This sounds insane, though I've noticed you have great skill at manipulating situations. That marriage contract proved as much to me. Is there any way that you can prove your claims to me?"

Harry blinked. "You reacted to my claim much better than I expected you would. Alright... um... nothing comes to mind at the moment, though I can tell you how things happened in the original timeline. Voldemort tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone from Hogwarts early next year, but I stopped him as a first year. He hoped to reform his body. He wasn't successful in this pursuit until the end of my fourth year, when he used the bone of his father, my blood, and the flesh of his servant Peter Pettigrew in some dark ritual."

"By the gods! You just described the Ancient Egyptian Ritual of Reformation! That is some of the most advanced necromancy humans are capable of utilizing, just as dark as creating horcruxes!" exclaimed Ragnok. Harry's face might've given it away, because Ragnok then said, "You're kidding right? Of course you aren't. The Dark Lord sounds exactly like the sort of person willing to survive in such a meaningless existence. Do you know where his horcrux is?"

Harry sighed and said, "Horcruxes, plural. He made six, splitting his soul into seven pieces. He used his Diary which is at Malfoy Manor, Slytherin's Locket which is at Black Manor, Hufflepuff's Cup which is in the Lestrange's Vault, Ravenclaw's Diadem which is at Hogwarts, his snake Nagini, and the Gaunt Ring which is in Riddle Manor. Or at least that's where they were once I began searching for them when I was seventeen."

Ragnok nearly exploded, "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" He quickly wrote a note on a piece of parchment, folded it into an airplane, and sent it on its way. The manner of communication was similar to the Ministry's. "We should begin destroying them as soon as possible! If we find Hufflepuff's Cup in the Lestrange Vault, then I'll completely believe your story and begin dispatching teams to the various locations you named. In the mean time, is there anything else I should know?"

"The Gaunt Ring is actually the Resurrection Stone. The reason that I'm the master of all three Deathly Hallows already is because the older version of me was, which is why I have access to the Peverell Vault. Once he disappears sometime within this year, I won't have access to it anymore. Oh, and there's a prophesy explaining that I'm the only one that can defeat Voldemort," said Harry in a noticeably chipper tone.

"So what exactly were you trying to accomplish when you came back in time other than killing Voldemort earlier than you originally did?" asked Ragnok.

"Well, I found out that Dumbledore basically manipulated my parents and their friends into creating the situation that led to their deaths and my birth. Indirectly because of him, my parents are dead though I've come to realize that he's also the reason that I was born in the first place. He wanted to forge me into a weapon for the Light through misery, though I could've just as easily become another Dark Lord. His machinations seem pointless to me. I'd have been far more willing to work with him if my parents were still alive and instilled Light ideologies into me," said Harry.

"I and the rest of my people have known the old man to be wily as a politician, but that does sound extreme even for him. You said indirectly, which implies that he probably didn't mean for your parents to be killed. It sounds like an accident on his part, though I know that does nothing to console you," said Ragnok.

"I've lived nearly ten years without ever knowing my parents. I've accepted that they're dead. My older self had eight times as much time to come to terms with their deaths. I think it was that the image he had of Dumbledore was tarnished by what he read, making him momentarily go nuclear. You've got to understand that the old man raised him to slaughter him, and this just sent him over the edge," said Harry.

"What do you mean, 'raised him to slaughter him'? That sounds even less like Dumbledore than what you've already told me," said Ragnok.

"On the night that Voldemort supposedly died, his unstable soul broke even more and a fragment latched onto me. I'm an unintentional horcrux, and Dumbledore believed that I had to die for Voldemort to truly be killed off. I _was_ hit by a killing curse, but it severed the portion of the soul sealed inside me, not my soul. I lived through two killing curses in my past life, both fired by the most powerful Dark Lord of the age. Once old snakeface died for good, I became an even bigger celebrity and used my influence to make wizard laws more tolerant, eventually forming an alliance with nonhuman sentient magical beings and revealing ourselves to the muggles. Science and technology actually mesh with magic pretty well, you just have to rewrite the laws of the universe for it to work."

Ragnok's jaw dropped by the end of his statement. He was about to speak when Griphook entered the room holding Hufflepuff's Cup. "Mr. President, you were correct. This is the true Cup of Hufflepuff. Shall we return it to the Abbot family Vault?" asked the goblin.

Ragnok shook his head, "No, that's a horcrux. We need to keep that safe in my private vault while we search for the others. We are going to perform a Roman Purification Ritual on them all, removing Voldemort's taint and preserving the items." Griphook nodded, placed the cup on Ragnok's desk, and left the room. The few words Ragnok said revealed their entire conversation so far, but the fact that Voldemort made multiple horcruxes out of priceless treasures didn't seem to really affect the goblin.

Shaking his head, Harry said, "I didn't know there was a ritual you could perform. I just exposed them to basilisk venom or fiendfyre to completely destroy them."

"You purposefully destroyed three revered objects of the Founders of Hogwarts? Sometimes you humans are just plain stupid, you know that? You could've just asked a goblin about horcruxes. We specialize in Cursebreaking you know," said Ragnok in mild annoyance.

Harry raised his hands in surrender and said, "What do you expect? I was a headstrong seventeen year old boy! I'm surprised everything worked out as well as it did considering. I mean, in the span of a few months I broke into Hogwarts, the Ministry, and Gringotts with only the help of my two friends. Well, them and Griphook."

"... You managed to break into a Gringotts high security vault at seventeen? And you got the help of Griphook?" asked an incredulous Ragnok.

"Well, I did go a little Imperius Curse and Polyjuice Potion crazy at the time..." said Harry. Senior explained in detail all of his various escapades during his school days, and days working as a Cursebreaker, Hit Wizard, Auror, Unspeakable, and Professional Seeker. Ragnok shook his head in good nature, though he did seem to acknowledge that Gringotts should buff their security if Harry broke in as easily as he made it out to be.

"And there's something else that I need to talk to you about. You shouldn't marry into the Chang family. They are competitors with the Goblin Triad, which means that you'll become their target if you marry Cho Chang. They will see you as a huge threat to them. They will begin hiring assassins to go after you if you carry through with your plans, so be warned. I realize that you're plotting a political coup in the Wizengammot that will rely heavily on bringing in the Chang family and their four choices, but the Goblin Triad is much deadlier than any Death Eaters," said Ragnok.

"If they're so deadly, why have I never heard of them? Why didn't Voldemort seek them as allies during his last rise?" asked Harry, confusion heavy in his voice. Senior never mentioned them to him before.

"Because any humans that discover their existence that aren't buying from them tend to mysteriously disappear. They have human members to act as mediators to bring products into the country, but they control quite a bit of the black market. You don't want to make an enemy out of them," said Ragnok.

"But my plan relies on the Changs getting a seat on the Wizengammot and being loyal to me. So either I choose to give up on controlling the Wizengammot, or not angering the most powerful criminal organization in all of Great Britain. If I decided not to care about the Triad..."

"Then the four goblin clans that are part of the Gringotts Covenant will likely secede and join Voldemort, bringing their knowledge of smithing and access to illegal materials to the man. Basically, you need to prioritize. Which is the greater immediate threat: Voldemort, the Ministry, or Dumbledore?" said Ragnok.

"Well, considering that Dumbledore is the Wizengammot and the current Minister is the puppet of a prominent Death Eater, its really down to just Voldemort and Dumbledore. The Wizengammot is the Legislative and Judicial branch, but the Ministry is the Executive branch... Though Voldemort could easily take over the Wizengammot too, so the more immediate threat is the Dark Lord. I'll appease the Triads by not marrying Cho, at least as long as Voldemort is alive. I wish there was a way to get the support of the Changs and Triad..."

"I have yet to come up with a solution to your problem, though I can give you updates on the situation. Though I would like to point out that Cho is now legally binded to you because her father signed the contract releasing her from his custody," said Ragnok.

"What kind of backward society is this?" said Harry. Sighing, he said, "No offense, but that seems incredibly archaic compared to muggle society. I don't want to _own_ her like she were property. Besides, overstepping Mr. Chang's authority over her would likely ruin our tentative political relationship."

"Well, let me just say that Mr. Chang is a Crime Lord and a really good one at that. He got to where he is today by backstabbing and double dealing, so he'd likely do the same to you. Hell, he might not even really care all that much as long as you marry her eventually-"

"Are you suggesting that I force her to live with me despite us both being underage?" asked Harry.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. When he signed that paper, he magically released all authority he had over her. She is now emancipated, an adult in the wizarding world, yet bound to you, her future husband. Since you signed the paper, you are now bound to her though are incapable of being married because you are underage. No matter what, you're both going to get married as soon as you're old enough. I'm just saying that you might as well get used to her _company_," said Ragnok.

"Dude, I'm only eleven. I have no experience with members of the opposite sex, especially _that_ kind of experience. I doubt my body would be capable of holding on long enough to satisfy her, let alone me. No, we'll have to wait a while before doing anything of the sort..." though the thought was certainly appealing... "Well, I think that about does it for our conversation. Keep me informed of the horcrux problem."

"Once we have all the horcruxes, we can go through a Purification Ritual with them all, including you. Don't forget that," said Ragnok.


	7. Arrival by Train

**A/N: They're finally on their way to Hogwarts! And now Harry must hide his manipulations even more than before, so he'll be downplaying his actions a bit more than he was.**

* * *

The remaining month was spent in a relatively quiet manner. By day Harry got to know Cho and met several of his future classmates in Diagon Alley, tempering those with future political power to either Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw so that they would be easier to influence. Cho was in on his plan and would help make the occasional offhand comment that resounded deeply with people. They did, after all, know more about their peers than they let on. Why not play on their strengths and weaknesses to manipulate them to a desirable result? While neither was particularly proud of being so... _controlling_ of other people's lives, they didn't show it even to each other.

Guilt over such actions was easy enough to suppress for the two. They knew what they were doing could be considered wrong by some, but if they could prevent people from dying by the Dark Lord's overt hand of Dumbledore's covert hand, then shouldn't they do everything in their power to do so? That was their justification anyway. Of course the plan required them to act as Machiavellian and utterly Slytherin as possible, but it was making it difficult for Harry to improve his disposition. He was still narcissistic, apathetic, vindictive, and dominant, but he was beginning to tone it down to bearable levels. Something that Cho rewarded him for.

They were getting to know each other on a more personal, fundamental level so their relationship could work. Of course when Harry told her the situation with the Triad and her family, she decided that they could wait to get married for a few years. Voldemort didn't need any more allies among the supposedly dark creatures, and they weren't going to prejudice a majority of a powerful nation of beings against them simply because they couldn't keep it in their pants. This was their first major deviation from the plan, but more delaying than anything else. After all, the implementation of the Changs and their advocated families would go a long way in ending the remaining xenophobia and racism among the conservative factions of the Wizengammot. They often chatted about such things over long distances, using his enchanted mirror that he got from the Peverell Vault.

By night, Harry worked on his Occlumency and talked with Senior about their plan. While some things were edited to work with the new development, it basically remained unchanged as time went on. They were both confident in his abilities to fend off external mental attacks from all but serious masters of Legilimency, but internal assaults were just as likely considering what was inside him. As they searched for Voldemort, they talked about important things but one night in particular came screeching across Harry's mind like a freight train, absorbing all of his attention.

_"Harry, I'm beginning to feel it," said Senior. Harry was taken aback slightly by the sudden conversation. They'd been searching in the dark recesses of his mind for Riddle for the past few hours in utter silence, only conversing to confirm the lack of Tom's presence. The fact that a sentient thing connected to the collective being known as Voldemort continued to elude their detection despite being inside his own mind was decidedly wearing on Harry's nerves, but there wasn't much more they could do._

_"Feel what?" he asked curiously._

_"The calling. Those that have been touched by the timestream are... pulled back to it. It calls to the very fiber of my being, slowly dragging the remains of my mind and soul back into the ether. Humans are biologically constrained to the dimension of space because we can't... its hard to explain. But that journey brought me to different realms, allowing me to walk the planes of Oblivion... This conversation is heading eerily towards the memory I stored in you... But that was the risk I was willing to take when I came back. Have I ever told you what it was like, floating through the fabric of existence for all eternity, yet the blink of an eye simultaneously?" asked Senior._

_"No, though it does sound like an interesting topic," prodded Harry._

_Senior nodded and said, "You will one day experience the same, though hopefully not in the foolish way that I did. I doubt my soul will ever be commended to Aetherius, and both Julianos and Akatosh have claims to me..."_

_"What are you talking about?" asked Harry. "Nothing you just said makes any sense to me. What is Aetherius, Julianos, and Akatosh? Are you speaking of some religion? Because you know I don't believe in any of that..."_

_Senior chuckled, "No. But this does have to do with magic. You've been thinking about the assignment I gave you. Perhaps you'd like to make a guess as to how the human body could possibly generate, let alone contain, such power. I know, but I wonder if you can come up with it on your own?"_

_"Well, magic is generated by both the body and soul as you said. I'm guessing the soul has more to do with it than anything else?" asked Harry._

_Senior's eyes twinkled and he replied, "I don't know, you tell me. What do you hypothesize is the most logical reason?"_

_Harry's brows furrowed in concentration, "The soul generates the energy, the body contains it, and the mind controls it?"_

_Senior smiled and said, "Ah, but can you honestly define which is which? What is the body, what is the mind, what is the soul?"_

_"...Well, I understand what they are but can't quite describe it. Maybe if I used an analogy. If I were a computer, the body would be the hardware, the mind would be the software, and the soul would be the... You know what? I don't know what a soul even is." At this, Senior's smile grew to Grinch-level proportions._

_"Exactly!"_

And now here Harry was, sitting in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express with Cho leaning against him. Deciding not to dwell on the riddle-filled conversations with Senior, he wrapped his arm lithely around her slim figure. They were still stopped at Platform Nine and Three Quarters, waiting to leave King's Cross station. They already ran into the Weasley Twins, who helped Harry put his trunk up. Of course it was feather light to the proper owner, namely himself, but it was a good test to see whether they helped him the first time out of the kindness of their hearts or something more sinister like Ron.

It turned out that he need not worry about them, what with their cheerful moods. He could still remember their amusing conversation even to this moment.

_"Goodness kid, what do you have in that trunk?" asked Twin B._

_"Its almost too heavy even for us," said Twin 2._

_Twin B nodded sagely and said, "Which must be pretty heavy because we're super strong."_

_"Absolutely, I mean look at our godly bodies and visages!" said Twin 2._

_"If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was unimpressed with our angelic appearances!" exclaimed Twin B._

_"Well maybe he doesn't swing that way," said Twin 2._

_"I'd swing that way if I saw somebody who looked like me," said Twin B._

_"Really?" asked Twin 2, "Well you're in luck-"_

_"Alright you two," said Harry. "You're practically as bad as Padfoot, Prongs, and Moony!" That got their attention._

_"You know the Marauders?" asked both twins simultaneously in excitement._

_Harry nodded, a small smile on his face. Of course he'd yet to meet them in this life while capable of remembering them, but he did know who they were. "Prongs was my father, James Potter."_

_"Potter?" asked Twin B._

_"As in-" began Twin 2._

_"The Great-" cut in Twin B._

_"Harry Potter?" they both finished._

_Seemingly unperturbed by their antics, which garnered quite a bit of respect from them, Harry replied, "Yeah. Though I'd like to ask you how you know about the Marauders?"_

_They nodded and pulled out a piece of parchment. "This-" they said in unison._

_"Is-" said Twin 2._

_"The-" said Twin B._

_"The Marauder's Map?" asked Harry with a smirk, cutting them off. The way they comically deflated caused his lips to twitch, but he reigned in his mirth as best he could._

_Grinning, they handed him the parchment, saying, "You can have it since its technically your father's legacy."_

_To which Harry replied, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." It didn't change._

_The twins looked delighted and said, "Well, we had to test you." That's when they gave him the actual map._

_"If you guys ever need to borrow it, you need only ask," said Harry. They would be the perfect allies in the future. "Oh, and let me give you a way to contact me. Its an enchanted mirror..."_

He pulled his girlfriend/fiance into a hug, and she snuggled into his chest. It struck Harry how arrogant wizards had become, using the most popular muggle train station right under said people's noses to take a secret portion of the society to a hidden school. Why not have a mass Floo system connected to Hogwarts? Surely muggles noticed that a single train rides along the tracks connecting King's Cross to Hogsmeade only twice a year? And what if runaways followed the racks aimlessly? What would happen if-

Cho turned to him with a little smile. "You realize you were muttering all of that under your breath, right?" Realizing that she was, again, correct about his somewhat odd behavioral tendencies, Harry just smiled and clamped his lips closed. "So, I've been meaning to talk to you about something that I don't think you've noticed."

Harry tilted his head in curiosity, not even needing to ask the question most people would inevitably expect. Smiling, Cho said, "I'll feed you baby bird." His lips twitched, but he otherwise gazed at her intently. Chuckling, she continued, "You realize that you're the rightful lord of multiple Most Ancient and Noble Houses, right?" He nodded, not really seeing the point. "And you realize that each of those Houses will need a heir from you?" He just laughed at her. Of course she was already talking about having his kids, despite them being underage and not even married yet. "Well, each heir needs to be sired from a different wife." That shut him up.

"...What?" was all he could weakly ask in light of such a bombshell being dropped. "You mean to say... that we... that I..."

Taking pity, she continued for him, "Will have to have multiple wives, at least one for every House that you're the head of. So far that's Potter and Peverell, since Ravenclaw and Gryffindor didn't have seats on the Wizengammot. But since I'm the heiress of the Chang family name, my children will be a continuation of my line. If you should marry any other heiresses, and should you inherit the Black family name again..."

"I'll need at least three wives, each with a minimum of one kid," said Harry, his cheeks beginning to turn pink. "I don't think I could ever... Wait a minute, why haven't I already heard of this? Why didn't Senior tell me that earlier? Surely he knew, being the head of Potter, Black, and Peverell! How could he omit something so god damned important?"

Cho sighed, "Because he was fine with letting the names die off. But that can't happen in this case. You need the seats associated with your Houses for the plan to work properly because more votes means a higher ratio in our favor. Older Harry didn't care about politics or nobility, which is why it took him so long to bring about the changes he did. But if you work in the system, you could bring about reforms much quicker than he did. He didn't tell you because... I don't know, you'll have to take it up with him. But who do you plan on marrying other than me? Keep in mind that marry another noblewoman will simply give you their title as well, so preferably no heiresses... though I did notice you checking out a certain redhead-"

"I most certainly wasn't ogling Susan Bones!" said Harry, his face slowly morphing into a beacon of crimson.

"Who said anything about Susan? I just said a redhead heiress. You made the connection all on your own. Don't worry about me being jealous or anything. I've learned through Older Cho's memories not to be too pushy about such things. Besides its a requirement of you, so I won't really be able to bitch and moan about it, now will I?" asked Cho. Grinning, they leaned closer together to kiss but were abruptly cut off when the compartment door opened.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a toad. A boy named Neville lost it. Have you seen it?" asked a girl with bushy brown hair, obviously Hermione. She blinked when she saw Harry. "Aren't you the kid that beat me at the National Spelling Bee two years ago?" Having completely forgotten about that, Harry laughed and nodded.

"I don't think we've been formally introduced, I'm Harry Potter. And this is my... girlfriend Cho Chang. And you are?" his tone was downright friendly, and his dazzling smile was apparently contagious because Hermione smiled back at him.

"I'm Hermione Granger, and did you say Harry Potter? As in _the_ Harry Potter? The only known survivor of the Killing Curse? The major reason behind the downfall of the Death Eaters? _And_ you're better at spelling than _me_?" Harry just smiled and nodded, not sure whether to enjoy basking in the glow of recognition and obvious admiration, or scoff at the starstruck girl. He knew they would one day become friends, but at the moment she just seemed like all other girls he met in Diagon Alley that practically raped him.

Cho grinned and said, "No, we haven't seen a toad. Though maybe you should ask a Prefect for help. They should be able to help you pretty easily." Absolutely mortified that she'd completely forgotten about her crusade to help Neville find Trevor, Hermione squeaked and attempted to run out of the compartment. Unfortunately, the door closed behind her silently when she entered, so she just ran face-first into said door. Stifling his laughter, since he knew it'd be rude to laugh at somebody at such an embarrassing moment, Harry gently helped her to her feet, opened the door, and scooted her out into the corridor.

The poor girl's face was so red in embarrassment that she didn't even register walking into an aristocratic blond boy who was flanked by two large dim-looking boys. She simply continued searching for the toad, having completely forgotten Cho's advice due to her embarrassment. Not noticing the three boys approaching Harry's compartment, Hermione walked off, lightly calling out, "Here Trevor, here boy..." Nobody had the heart to tell the flustered girl that toads didn't react to voices like dogs would.

Harry turned to Cho and said, "Where were we?" as he began leaning closer to her again. And, again, they were interrupted by the door opening, seemingly of its own accord. In walked a skinny blond boy who, for some strange reason, reminded Harry of a ferret. He was surrounded by two bodyguards that looked remarkably like gorillas. "Malfoy," he said pleasantly, as if expected the other boy, "what brings you to this side of the train?"

Malfoy nodded and said, "Potter, my parents have decided that it would be a good idea for us to... have an alliance of sorts." Harry scrutinized the other boy, Cho following his lead with a critical eye. The Malfoy family had enormous financial and political assets, yet also had numerous enemies of the Light side. Of course, the littlest Malfoy could change public image of his family if he tried and had the motivation to do so. Harry contemplated whether it would be more helful or troublesome to accept Draco's offer.

"What do you propose?" was the answer he finally gave, after nearly ten seconds of tense silence.

Visibly relaxing, Malfoy replied, "I can help you get out of trouble fairly easily. My father is on the Board of Governors and my godfather is the Head of Slytherin. I'll have a measure of diplomatic immunity at this esteemed institution, and I'd like to extend it to you if you're willing to accept."

"And what would you want of me? There's got to be a catch," said Harry.

Malfoy nodded and said, "Basically I want you to support my family politically. Your fame could be a great asset to my father, and it would help passing certain laws. For instance, he's working on passing a Muggleborn Registration Act, which would make mudbloods ineligible to attend Hogwarts and mingle with the rest of us. You know, blood purity and the like."

"I probably would have agreed had you not just said that," said Harry, his eyes glinting. "Look, I was raised by muggles. While I admit their lives are practically empty without magic, they've got a curious disposition regarding their environment that's frankly lacking among most magicals. Did you know that incestuous relationships tend to result in physical deformities and mental disorders? It's because sexual reproduction mostly thrives on genetic diversity, and removing the key advantageous factor is counter productive. The DNA tells the RNA what kinds of proteins to make, and the proteins need to be fairly specific for the human body to work. With inferior DNA, you have inferior offspring."

He could tell that Malfoy had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, and the somewhat big words spoken in quick succession wasn't helping matters. Harry sighed and said, "Pure blood ideologies are having a negative and borderline cancerous effect on the society that you're a member of. Surely you see that this isn't a good thing?" Malfoy actually looked contemplative, but Crabbe and Goyle were too stupid to understand what he was talking about yet too proud to actually admit it.

Sighing, Harry said, "Anyway, we'll be at Hogwarts soon and me and my beautiful girlfriend need to change into our school attire... Please leave while we do this?" The future Slytherins all nodded and left dumbly, having no really coherent response to the torrential downpour of information he just unloaded on them.

At that moment, the train came to an unexpected stop. The lights started flickering before they went completely out and he could here several people nervously poking their heads out into the hallway to find out what was going on. "Dementors," said both Harry and Cho simultaneously.

"Cho, neither of us can use a Patronus Charm without giving something away. We need to discreetly ward the door and window so they can't enter until an upper year gets them to leave," said Harry. Cho nodded and turned to the window, slowly placing layer upon layer of muffling and repellent wards. Harry did the same on the door for nearly three minutes before they sat back down on their chair, much closer than when they started.

Cho grinned, now that the threat of soul sucking monsters was diminished by their preemptive efforts, and said, "I like it when you take charge like that..." Harry just tilted his head, not having to ask the question. She smirked and said, "And also when you use big words, I feel things deep inside."

Harry understood _exactly _what she was saying but decided he'd rather change than comment. They quickly got on their jet black robes, blushing slightly but not really caring since they'd be married one day anyway. Within ten minutes the train started up again, now that the dementors were finished checking for Sirius Black. He'd really need to find Scabbers soon.

Shortly thereafter, the Hogwarts Express came to a stop again, only this time it was scheduled. People started disembarking from the train, them included. Before they were separated by the roiling masses of students, they shared a quick kiss and Harry walked over to Hagrid and his fellow first years. He felt the distant chill of the dementors, but they seemed to be behaving. For now.

Several of Cho's friends from last year giggled upon seeing her with a younger guy, but they thought he was cute so they didn't really mind. It wasn't until they got in the thestral drawn carriages that anybody actually recognized him as the Boy-Who-Lived. He heard their excited squeals all the way from the black lake, bringing a small smile to his face. He was currently on a boat with Hannah Abbot, Terry Boot, and Susan Bones. Deciding to make small talk, he began, "So, which house do you want to be in?"

Both girls said Hufflepuff, but Terry said Ravenclaw. Nodding, Harry replied, "I'm not sure which house would most suit me. I'm ambitious, curious, courageous, and humble. I guess it'll be a surprise." That didn't really sound too humble, but he didn't care all that much; he got Susan to blush and giggle. Alright, maybe Cho was slightly correct about his alleged slight attraction to a potentially drop-dead gorgeous witch who was possibly the heiress of the Bone family. He couldn't really remember at the moment.

"I'm sorry for how I acted in Diagon Alley that one day over the summer. If I'd known you were so... cool, I'd probably have talked to you much earlier," said Susan, the redness of her face only intensifying at her confession.

Grinning, Harry said, "So it seems that you're actually capable of coherent conversations?" Though his tone was teasing, he really was genuinely pleased that she could talk to him. They had idle chit-chat until they reached the castle's grotto entrance, the only time he'd probably ever actually end up using this part of the ancient Gregorian castle. They were about to be sorted, and he couldn't wait.

McGonagall explained the house and point systems, though Harry tuned her out. There didn't seem to be a purpose behind the point system other than giving bragging rights to a single house for a year. Not really the greatest reward in Harry's opinion. And then they were separating people into groups based on how they thought, isolating them from differing perspectives. The stagnancy of the wizarding world's social decorum was likely resulting from such policies percolating the whole system, but Harry couldn't make such fundamental changes. Yet.

Soon enough, they entered the Great Hall. The hat sang its song, and all first years lined up in alphabetical order to be sorted into either Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Harry paid little attention to the sortings, his mind wondering how the hat would react to Senior and Tom. Finally it was his turn, and as soon as McGonagall called his name, the hall immediately hushed. Then whispers started to escalate and people were ruminating where he'd go.

He started towards the stool at a slow pace on accident, going at an unbearable pace. But it would look way too awkward if he sped up, so he kept the agonizingly slow pace. Somewhere, he heard the Weasley twins beginning to chant his name. The chant spread across the Gryffindor table, quickly gaining steam among the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws as well. Using his limited metamorphmagus abilities, he hid the blood rushing to his face, making him appear far calmer than he truly was. His heart began beating like crazy, and when he reached the stool, people were going insane. Several people were standing and shouting things.

He neither knew what they were saying, nor did he care. He put the decrepit headgear on his head, it hiding the entire Great Hall from his vision. But right before it did so, he saw amused expressions on the Weasley twins, almost as if they were planning something terrible. Cho looked exasperated at all the attention he was generating, and he even saw a seventh year Hufflepuff with bright pink hair smiling at him. He realized it was Tonks before he was cast into the darkness of the hat. And the sound cut off immediately. He didn't know if the hat somehow muffled the cacophony on its own, or everybody simply shut up at the exact same time.

He thought with all of his might one single word, two colors, and a single aspect of his personality. "GRYFFINDOR!" yelled the hat almost immediately after it landed on him. The room exploded, the blaring of trumpets echoing around the halls and confetti raining down from the enchanted ceiling. The Weasleys, soon followed by the entire Gryffindor table, began yelling, "We got Potter!" Knowing that the trumpets and confetti was likely their doing, he just sat down next to them. It took nearly ten minutes for the Great Hall to calm down enough for the sorting ceremony to continue.

By the end, Gryffindor claimed Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Padma Patil, Parvatti Patil, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, and Lavender Brown. He wondered why the Gryffindor girls were different than Senior's, but wasn't really complaining all that much. He idly noted that Ron Weasley was placed in Hufflepuff and all the other members of his enormous family quickly disowned him, though only jokingly with Fred and George. Percy seemed serious.

Deciding not to care, Harry made small talk with all of his new housemates, learning all sorts of tiny details that Senior never taught him. And why would he, having as limited an amount of time as Senior did? Before Harry knew it, Dumbledore stood up and sent everybody to bed. Harry and the rest of the first year Gryffindors followed their Prefect, Percy, back to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who swung forward to admit them effortlessly. Harry noticed her winking suggestively at him. He ignored it, went upstairs into his dorm room, chose a random bed, and fell asleep.

That night, he realized that Senior was finally gone. But now Tom decided to manifest himself.

_"Hello Harry Potter," said the specter of Voldemort. "I've been looking forward to talking to you for years. If it weren't for that other version of you, I would have taken possession of your body and used it to wreak havoc upon the wizarding world. But alas, you've grown strong enough to defeat any overt attacks by me."_

_"Why are you talking to me, and where is Senior?" asked Harry, quite confused by Riddle's illogical behavior._

_"Why, Harry, I thought you'd have been able to understand it all by now. And as for your 'Senior'... he succumbed to the call of the timestream, slipping away quietly in your waking hours. You are now well and truly alone, please remember that as me and my higher form begin subjugating you. Well, you'll see on Halloween... Until then!" said Voldemort._

_Actually shaken by his nemesis's words, Harry sat and contemplated how to react to such news. He couldn't think of anything at the moment. Cho would probably know what to do._

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**A/N: Sorry its so short, but I felt this was a good cut off point. The next few chapters are somewhat rushed.**


	8. The First Day of School

**A/N: I've decided to redo the two months leading from September 1st to October 31st, though it will still end the same way in the Chamber of Secrets. It'll be much more detailed...**

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While he got ready for the day and ate breakfast in the Great Hall, he couldn't help but think about Tom Riddle's odd behavior and depressing message. Something big was going down on Halloween, and the horcrux wasn't trying to possess him. The fact that Senior was finally gone, without so much as a goodbye, was actually painful for Harry. He'd come to view his older self as a father figure of sorts. The fact that he could no longer gain advice or bounce ideas off of Senior left a bad taste in Harry's mouth, but what could he do? There was the locked memory, but he didn't know what conditions would allow it to manifest, so he was effectively alone. Sure he still had Cho, but she wasn't the same as himself.

Sighing, he entered the Potions Classroom and realized something was wrong. This wasn't the same group of kids he had classes with his first time through life. He was already aware that the Gryffindors weren't the same, but he didn't realize that the Slytherins were different as well. They were missing Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini, and Tracey Davis, all of whom were now in Ravenclaw. He knew he was responsible, but the fact that they were replaced by nameless people that he didn't even know existed was confusing. This strangeness actually gave Harry pause. Just what caused those changes? Was this the exact same world that he originally came from and somehow him changing things already had small effects, or was he in an entirely different world altogether that was meant to be different?

The possibilities about what the inconsistencies from one life to another could mean were reverberating through his skull with painful clarity. Maybe his foreknowledge was useless? He'd have to ask Cho if she noticed anything like this as well. Frowning, Harry took out a muggle notebook and mechanical pencil to take notes on the lecture Snape was going to give. He did already know the material, but he wanted to treat the man with respect. In his previous life, Senior even named one of his children after the man. Might as well try to act civil, right?

Those were the thoughts that impregnated Harry's mind as he waited for the first class of the school year to start. That was another thing that made him uncomfortable. Potions was most certainly not the very first class he had to take in his previous life's first year. His unease, however, was shortly forgotten when Snape himself entered the room. He'd forgotten just how greasy the man's hair was, how sallow faced and pale he was, how beady his black eyes looked, and the utter hatred in them when directed upon himself. 'Oh yeah. I'd forgotten that he hates my guts...' thought Harry.

Senior had been alive so long that he'd forgetten important details about the social dynamics when he was so young. Time seemed to erase how shitty the master potioneer was, as opposed to the memory of how brave he'd been.

Quietly, in a voice that carried throughout the room, Snape began, "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Then he began role call, pausing at Harry's name. "Ah yes, Mr. Potter. Our new celebrity. By the end of this class, I'm going to show you that fame isn't everything. Potter, what is the difference between Monkswood and Wolfsbane?" snapped the professor.

Harry knew the answer. "Um... aren't they the same thing?" he asked with a slight tilt to his head. At that moment, he felt a tendril of legilimency brushing against his heavily fortified mind. He felt his face automatically frown, and his Occlumency shield already in place. Most people chose a blank canvas or element of nature as their shields, but Senior advised him to use walls of fake memories as his shield to avoid suspicion. Hidden behind the memories was a wall of green symbols traveling haphazardly through blank darkness, inspired by the Matrix films. He doubted Snape would even know how to react to that.

But luckily, the man didn't even notice the difference. He simply looked through the surface thoughts and saw everything he expected; intimidated submission in the face of him. Annoyed that his ploy didn't work, he said, "And where would you look if I told you to get me a bezoar?"

Harry shrugged and said, "Probably the ingredients cabinet over there," while pointing to the mentioned storage space. Several people snickered, Lavender Brown one of the most obvious. Apparently she was using the same tactics on him that she used on Ron in the first timeline.

Snape snarled and said, "Five points from Gryffindor or cheek. Answer the question." The man didn't seem to notice that Harry seemed to know it was an ingredient already.

"I really don't know, I'm sorry." Snape snarled in satisfaction and everyone began taking notes. Under his breath, Harry muttered, "Git." Luckily only Hermione heard him, and she looked affronted at his lack of respect but still starstruck. Harry groaned. This was going to be a long class. He would get revenge on Snape soon... But in the mean time, he would socialize with everyone around him discreetly.

He was amiable with all the Gryffindors and Slytherins, even going so far as to help Gregory Goyle with his potion. The Gryffindors looked slightly offended that he would ever even think about helping a snake in _potions_, but the Slytherins were looking at him with calculating expressions. Malfoy nodded his thanks at Harry, signifying that he was still thinking about the terms of their alliance, despite Harry not explicitly stating his demands. Reading between the lines was crucial when around Harry, and apparently Malfoy could actually do so.

Before he knew it, double potions was over and everybody started making their way to lunch. Harry discreetly sent a nonverbal, wandless charm at the potions master. Deciding to do something to at least somewhat alleviate suspicion for events that would soon be happening, Harry asked Snape, "Professor Snape?" The man stopped and looked at him with narrowed eyes. Gulping, Harry said, "Well, I couldn't help but notice that you're the same age as my parents would've been if they were still alive. I was wondering if you knew my mother and father?" He mentioned Lily before James because if he repeated it enough, Snape would eventually crack.

The greasy man growled, "Yes I did. Now leave before I give you a detention for wasting my time." Harry nodded and scurried out of the room, seeming rather scared of Snape's threat. But when he was in the hallway, he instantly calmed down and a small smile appeared on his face. His plan revolving around the resident potions master was beginning to start...

A few minutes later, Fred and George Weasley were positively beaming. It was lunch time, and the Great Hall was full to the brim with students when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Snape began singing, "I'm a little teapot, short and stout!' and started doing perfect pirouettes for no apparent reason. The fact that Snape had a shit-eating grin on his face and that Harry Potter didn't seem remotely surprised by the random outburst clicked with them. They knew that the Boy-Who-Lived was responsible for this, and they would help him out in any future missions of his.

Snape suddenly regained control of himself, turned a lovely shade of purple, and screamed, "POTTER!" The entire Great Hall got quiet immediately.

Harry grinned, stood up innocently, and said, "I really enjoyed that performance, though I am curious as to why you're calling my name?"

"You did this," said Snape in a vaguely threatening voice, "and you're going to be in enormous trouble for it!"

"Did what sir?" asked Harry with a perfect expression of confusion and bewilderment. Then, everyone saw understanding and slight mirth play across his face before he continued, "I made you dance and sing? I'm just a first year student with no knowledge of magic whatsoever. How could I have possibly have done this?" The proper expressions may have been going across Harry's face, but the twins could _see_ it. "I'd be willing to let you check my wand for any spells its cast recently, if that would help..."

Only the twins seemed to notice that Harry never explicitly denied causing Snape's outburst. He certainly implied that he had nothing to do with it, even pointing out that as a first year on the very first day, he likely didn't know the magic advanced enough to cause such things to happen. Harry's face looked sincere, but the twins knew he didn't want his wand checked. He was lying by acting sincere, and Snape, apparently thinking that checking his wand would be a waste of time, sputtered incomprehensibly and returned to the staff table.

Dumbledore was staring intently at Harry, who didn't seem to care all that much that he was under scrutiny. Fred and George exchanged a quick glance and knew it. Harry Potter not only pranked Snape in a public place, but he got away with it. "He truly is the son of Prongs," whispered Twin 2.

Twin B grinned and said, "And we must help him continue the family business. I think we should approach him in Gryffindor Tower after all the classes are over and give him a proper introduction... We'll introduce him as our brother." Twin 2 fervently agreed with Twin B. As they began plotting something that would make most ordinary people very nervous, Harry looked up and noticed Tonks starting to leave the Great Hall.

Deciding that he'd finally talk to her, he went after her and finally caught up just as she was entering the Charms Corridor. He called out, "Hey! You're Nymphadora Tonks right?" She turned around and looked at him with greatly angered eyes.

"Don't ever say my first name ever again, you hear me?!" she said with an absolutely evil tone as she and her group of fellow Hufflepuffs began treking to their next class. Harry followed them along brightly.

He smiled and said, "Sorry Dora." She bristled, so he said, "Or would you rather I call you Nympho?" The boys all started guffawing at his daring, but quickly stopped at a look from her.

Though her eyes twinkled with amusement at him, she put on a pretty good glare. Wondering what he wanted, Tonks said, "Is there something you want, Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked mock outraged, "Can't a first year Gryffindor can't just talk to seventh year Hufflepuffs for no reason?" All of the Hufflepuffs just laughed. "No really, there's no ulterior motive," he said. Smiling, Harry changed his hair jet black hair to golden blond and his emerald eyes to saphire. "So I've heard that you can do this too. I was wondering... if you'd like to tutor me, if you're willing." It was difficult having a conversation with someone so much taller as you walked up moving staircases, but he'd manage.

The group of her friends all began giggling and gossiping about the cute first year that was flirting with Tonks. He smiled winningly at them while she studied him, appraising his current skill level. Apparently she found him worthy, because she said, "You already seem to have the basics down, so we'll be learning the much harder parts. But didn't you go to the Metamorphmagus Academy?" He shook his head, so she sighed and said, "Alright, though I'm not cheap."

Before he could stop himself, he dramatically looked her over and said, "I can see that." Deciding to switch tracks before she could take offense, he said, "So when would you like to meet up, and where?" Her friends were giggling even more.

She sighed and said, "How about every Thursday after dinner? Every other night is booked with Quidditch or Prefect duties, so that's all I can offer." He briefly contemplated bragging about how he was planning to be on the Gryffindor team. Why was he trying to boast so much to Tonks? Admittedly she was very pretty, and she was one of the few other metamorphmagi in the world. But, he wouldn't go for somebody else from a Most Ancient and Noble Family because they'd likely be related to him in some way, shape, or form.

He knew for a fact that his grandmother was sisters with Tonks's grandmother. Smiling at what was probably his fourth cousin, he nodded and said, "Okay. For a place, I've got an idea of where we could do it. You know that abandoned hallway on the seventh floor?" She nodded, so he continued, "Meet me there. Don't forget, Thursday after dinner!" Grinning, they parted ways as she entered the Charms classroom and Harry returned to the Great Hall.

On his way back, he ran into Peeves. "Oh, is the ickle firstie lost? Should Peeves help the young Potter?" asked the poltergeist. Harry's grin broadened menacingly as he stared unflinchingly at the little man. This would be a great opportunity for him. If he made an alliance with Peeves, he could have diversions whenever he wanted. Plus he could bring down untold chaos on Quirrel, Snape, Lockhearte, Umbridge, Trelawney, or Barty Crouch Junior.

"Peeves," he began happily. "I have a proposition for you!" This was a spur of the moment decision, though if he did it properly, he could be gaining an invaluable friend. His exclamation caught the poltergeist's attention, and he could see the mischievous glee twinkling in its mad eyes. "How would you like to be a part of a prank war against the Weasley twins?" He watched happily as Peeves began grinning just as evilly as Harry, maybe even more.

"I would positively love to take part in such a noble pursuit!" cackled Peeves. "So what's the plan? How are we going to get them?" asked Peeves greedily, actually twitching with anticipation.

"They are known throughout the entire school as the kings of pranking. Their mischief is even more renowned than your own," said Harry. Peeves looked outraged, but had to grudgingly admit the truth behind Harry's words. "And that is how we'll get them. If we prank the whole school, everyone will think its the Weasleys simply because of their reputation. But they will know. And they will take it as a challenge. Imagine the insanity of a competition between us and them."

Peeves cackled, "Oh Potter, you're just like your father! Are you planning on recreating the Marauders?"

Harry laughed, "Oh absolutely! Think of it as an initiation. After this year, the twins and their friend Lee Jordan, along with us two will create a force of discord the likes of which haven't been seen since my father's heyday! Doesn't that sound more exciting than what you're currently doing?" Peeves nodded and floated away, happily imagining the things to come. Ideas were already forming in Harry's head for pranks. This would be a great way to improve his skills in diversionary tactics, setting traps, and improvising. And it would likely teach everybody constant vigilance...

Harry chuckled maliciously as he finally returned to the Great Hall, and he made a beeline for his girlfriend Cho, who was just leaving for her next class. "Hey milady, I'd like to sweep you off your feet and maybe talk to you in private for a moment."

Smiling, she said, "But of course. Lead the way my gallant knight," before following him into an abandoned classroom nearby. On their way, they saw Peeves who gave Harry a salute before chasing after second year Hufflepuff's and pelting them with bits of chalk. The resounding yells of annoyance and apprehension echoed back to the chuckling couple.

"What did you do to gain Peeves's respect, Harry?" asked Cho, her chocolate brown eyes glinting with the same mischief as his own. He wondered whether she would join the Marauders after their debut. She likely would. He zipped his lips closed, shaking his head. Sighing in mock sadness, she said, "So what did you want?" She began scooting closer to him now that they were alone, and he felt a strange tingling feeling at the base of his spine.

"Well before we do anything..." he leaned forward and lightly kissed her. She blushed, and Harry would've too if he wasn't forcing it down with his metamorphmagus powers. "Alright, so I wanted to talk to you alone."

"Oh really? I would never have ever come to such a conclusion on my own," she replied, her voice quite jovial.

He rolled his eyes in fake annoyance and said, "Okay, make fun of me for redundancy." She giggled, and he was feeling fairly silly about his uneasy feeling, but he still needed to know if, "Cho, have you noticed any discrepancies between this timeline and our own?" She seemed to notice that he was actually being serious, because she mostly replaced her humor with a serious face.

Cho nodded and said, "A bunch of minor things, but nothing major really happened until you started coming to school so I can't really say." Harry looked like he was about to argue, but Cho headed him off, "Take, for instance, the Philosopher's Stone. Shit like that hadn't happened for a few centuries. Then you go off into the Chamber of Secrets your second year, fight off a hundred dementors your third year, compete in the Triwizard Tournament your fourth year, participated in the Battle at the Department of Mysteries in your fifth year, joined the counter assault during the first siege of Hogwarts your sixth year, and killed Voldemort himself when you were seventeen. That's not fucking normal, even by wizarding standards."

He sighed, but before he could reply, she continued with a purr to her voice, "You changed the political landscape entirely. Within thirty years we entered the Coalition of Magical Beings alongside the goblins, veela, vampires, and werewolves. Then thirty years after that, we revealed our existence to the muggles. Without you and your American counterpart, none of that could've been possible. It was the Golden Era of Earth... and you threw it all away just to follow me?"

Well, when she put it like that, it sounded awfully romantic. "Um... yeah, I guess I did-" but he was cut off when her lips crashed into his. He was taken aback, but the room started changing around him before he could really respond. She pulled him over to a nearby desk, starting to unbutton her shirt, and he, feeling somewhat panicky, said, "Cho, we're too young for this..."

But Cho just giggled and said, "I know that _you_ are, but I have needs. You want to be a good fiance, right?" He had no response readily available to that, so he just shrugged and leaned closer to her, his face beginning to turn slightly pink, and then they began fiercely kissing each other much more intense than anything they'd already done. Their tongues were practically wrestling for control, and they went for nearly a full minute until the need to breath made them break apart.

"We really need to get to our classes..." said Harry. Cho grinned, nodded, buttoned her shirt back up, and left with her hips swaying sensuously and Harry's twinkling emerald eyes having no choice but to follow their sashaying movement. He had to shake his head to get thoughts of her out of his head long enough to walk to Transfiguration. He was going to sit next to Susan Bones in that class... He'd need a cold shower before the day was over, but wouldn't be able to until after dinner.

He trudged to the Transfiguration classroom, glad to finally get to some actual spellcasting. Harry had been looking forward to this class all day, especially since the Gryffindors had class with the Ravenclaws. If he played his cards right, he would be able to befriend Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise, and hopefully gain a small amount of loyalty from them for his future political coup. They were, after all, the heiresses (Blaise is a female in this) of the Greengrass, Davis, and Zabini Houses.

He arrived in class easily enough and found a seat in the very center of the room. A tabby cat was sitting on the teacher's desk, but he paid it no mind. He knew McGonagall was an animagus with a cat form, so it wasn't really all that difficult to guess where she was. Smirking, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, allowing himself to catch a quick cat nap before class started. About five minutes later, the three girls he was waiting for came in, still nearly ten minutes early.

Gladly waving them over to his table, he began making small talk with them. "Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the Changs," he said brightly to Daphne.

She slightly blushed and said, "Well, had I known you were in the market for a wife, I'd have probably not done so." At her words, the tabby cat twitched and stared at him in abject horror. He couldn't help from chuckling and pointing out how adorable the cat looked and the witches all giggled. Daphne sighed, "No but seriously though, why would you enter a marriage contract with the Chang family?"

Smirking, he said, "That's for me to know, and you to find out," before he turned to Tracey and said, "Hello. I assume you're Tracey Davis?" She nodded at him, her face having the same slight blush as Daphne's. "Its nice to make your acquaintance. So how are you liking the school so far?"

Tracey smiled and said, "Well, I like it a lot, but its so hard to find my way around! There are a hundred and forty two staircases in this castle, all of which change where they lead depending on the time and day of the week! Then there are doors that act like walls and walls that act like doors, the portraits keep leaving their frames to talk with their friends, and the ghosts aren't helpful with navigation at all!"

Blaise huffed and said, "Plus the Slytherins are terrible to us, Peeves is just awful, and Gryffindors keep claiming that we're 'snakes in disguise' to anybody who'll listen to them."

Harry began wondering whether it was a good idea changing where they were sorted into, even though he only had one conversation with Daphne that caused it. "Well that sounds far less fun than my first day so far," said Harry, but he soon quailed under Blaise's angry glare and amended, "-though Snape was terrible."

Daphne was curious, "You mean the Professor? What's so bad about him?"

Harry sighed and said, "Well, he was in love with my mother when they were both here, but she decided to be with my father instead of him. Oh, and my father tended to bully him when they were both here and they were eternal rivals because of that." Everybody, cat included, was staring at him. He grinned and said, "They left me letters in the Potter Family Vault. Their exploits were rather intriguing-" but he stopped talking when more people entered the room.

He noticed with amusement that Hermione and Lavender were both annoyed that he didn't save them seats, so he said, "You guys will always be my partners in Potions." That appeased them, for now. Grinning, he waited for everyone to enter and the class to officially start. With nobody late, since Ron was in Hufflepuff, the tabby cat leaped off the desk and transformed into Professor McGonagall. Harry acted just as surprised as everyone else, and she began her melodramatic speech about the subject she taught.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complicated and dangerous magic that you can learn in Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will be asked to leave and not come back. You have been warned." Then she transfigured the desk into a pig and back again. Everyone was excited but soon realized that they wouldn't be doing anything remotely close to that level for a long time when they were tasked with turning a match into a needle.

Harry decided to act like a slightly above average student and let Hermione be the first to successfully complete the assignment. He spent most of the class talking to Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise, effectively ruining their concentration but they didn't seem to mind. In fact Daphne actually looked rather pleased with his attention. He also managed to talk with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot, but they were too far away to have an actual conversation. Harry managed to finish his within minutes of class ending, the only other person in the whole classroom to do it. Neither he or Hermione had to do the homework that night because of their accomplishments, something that everyone, Hermione included, seemed annoyed about.

After double Transfiguration, they had dinner in the Great Hall. Harry decided to sit with his new friends in Ravenclaw for the main course, but returned to Gryffindor for dessert and talked with Susan and Hannah much more reliably than his attempt in class. They then all began traipsing back up to the common room after finished eating. Feeling strangely tired, Harry decided to call it a night and headed up to the boy's dormitory, much to the displeasure of Susan, Hannah, Lavender, and Hermione. Harry noticed that all the girls were friendly with him, but the boys all seemed annoyed that he was getting so much attention. He'd fix that tomorrow.

After having a cold shower just as he predicted, Harry was about to go to bed in his dorm room when he received correspondence from Gringotts, specifically Ragnok. Knowing that this was likely important, he immediately read it over.

_Dear Lord Potter,_

_The Gringotts Cursebreakers have successfull acquired Hufflepuff's Cup and the Gaunt Ring, but the others elude us. The Malfoys appear to have given Riddle's Diary to somebody in Hogwarts as a weapon of sorts, according to Lord Lucius Malfoy. Since he didn't have the horcrux in his possession, he could not be charged for aiding and abating arrest. The snake Nagini is likely with the Dark Lord's current puppet, the Diedem of Ravenclaw remains in Hogwarts. Since we can't access Black Mansion without the consent of the current Lord Sirius Black, we cannot retrieve Slytherin's Locket._

_To successfully complete the Purification Ritual, we need to have all horcruxes present when we initiate it, including you. With your help, we could collect them all now. We need you to find the Diedem of Ravenclaw and Riddle's Diary, then present yourself to us. The ritual forcibly removes the soul fragments from their objects and combines them all back into the original soul. If we complete the ritual before the Dark Lord reclaims his body, the connection anchoring him to this realm will sever and his combined soul be sent to Oblivion. Therefore you must hurry._

_Also, I've discovered that you lost access to the main Peverell Vault earlier today. Luckily I already transferred ten percent of the liquid assets to the Potter Vault. I know this means that the older version of you has finally faded from this world, and am sorry for your loss. Though I would like to say that you in possession of the White Phial, Peverell Blade, Enchanted Mirror, and Peverell Pensieve is a really good thing for your overall plans. I also discovered that there is still a house elf bonded to the Potter name, named Derpy. Simply call her name and she shall apparate to your position._

_I have also taken the liberty of initiating negotiations with the goblin Triad, hopefully bringing an alliance your way. It may be difficult, but I do believe they would be worth the effort. And it might even be good enough for you to keep your union with the Changs. The Triad uses a family with a similar background as their distributors among British wizards. It took a significant amount of investigating, but I've discovered that the Patil family is in an alliance with the goblin Triad. If you marry their eldest daughter, Padma, you should be in good light with them._

_Sincerely,_

_Ragnok, King of the Goblin Nation and President of Gringotts._

He quickly wrote a reply, commending the goblin for its efforts and asking him how he'd go about making contact with the patriarch of the Patil family. It would likely be beneficial to him, having connections in the Indian subcontinent from them. Combine that with the Chinese contacts he'd gain from the Changs, and he'd have a pretty powerful international network. And he could likely get in the good graces of the Goblin triad, possibly gaining even more influence from them.

Smiling that his plans were going so well, and that he was doing a pretty good job improvising ever since Senior left. Wondering if this would really work, he called out, "Derpy?" A female house elf appeared before him, an enormous smile on her face. She had the Potter family crest on the pillow case of her uniform. The pillow case was cut remarkably to make it look like she was wearing a skirt. It was quite adorable.

"Master has finally called Derpy! What would Master have Derpy do?" said Derpy. He smirked at her grammar, feeling slightly wistful. She was a connection to his family, something that he wouldn't have without Ragnok's help.

Smiling, he said, "Go to the Room of Requirement and locate the Diedem of Ravenclaw. Then act as a courier between me and Ragnok, passing the artifact along to him. That should be it for now... Oh, and when you're done, report back to me." The house elf, upon realizing that her master dismissed her, disapparated and began following his orders immediately. Harry grinned, knowing that Derpy would make his life quite a bit easier, before laying down on his bed and falling asleep. And so ended the first day of school, the dreaded Monday.

Tom Riddle didn't show up in his dreams that night, and likely wouldn't show up until Halloween. However, he did have strange, fragmented images were too blurry and vague for him to be able to really understand what he was seeing. He felt that this was important.

_Senior was reading an ancient stone tablet in a Sumerian temple. "The ley lines all over Earth are tethers from Mundus through Oblivion to Aetherius, since all planes of existence are congruent. The energy from the divine realm passes over the connection through the demonic realm and is deposited in the mortal realm to vent excess power."_


	9. Let the Mayhem Begin

**A/N: I've decided that Harry will be married to only Cho and Padma, but will date Susan and Katie, and have a unique relationship with Daphne and Fleur respectively. However our favorite Beauxbatons Champion will take a while to enter this story...**

* * *

The next day, Harry rolled out of bed, yawned, and went down to the common room just as Susan, Hannah, the Patils, Neville, and a few upper years were leaving for breakfast. In good spirits, he joined them for the morning meal in his pajamas, eliciting giggles from the females. "Harry, why do your pants have polar bears and labels for muggle soft drinks on them?" Susan asked curiously.

He offered his arm like a gentleman and said, "That's just the way I roll." She rolled her eyes but accepted his invitation, all the girls giggling even more. As they approached the Great Hall, he appraised her worth. While Cho was kidding about him being with Susan somewhat, she did make an excellent point. If he continued to marry the heiresses of noble families, he could potentially own all of their votes. Of course he'd come off as either powerhungry, which was true to a certain extent, or a man-whore, which also had some stance in truth. He honestly thought polygamy was archaic and frankly appalling, but if it could help him gain power over the Wizengammot and Ministry earlier...

They sat down at the Gryffindor table before any of their housemates, but after all the Slytherins, most Ravenclaws, and some Hufflepuffs were already seated. The Slytherins, as a part of Pureblood society, were always early to meals and classes. That was just how they were raised. The Ravenclaws tended to wake up early to study or read, and just ended up at their table. And Hufflepuffs just enjoyed hanging out too much to stay asleep. Most Gryffindors tended to not give any fucks about social decorum, knowledge, or even friendship if it meant they could sleep a bit longer. Only those from noble houses or those wishing to be even bothered showing up before food appeared on the table.

Harry and his motley crew were all seated and having a great time when Snape approached him with something akin to victory in his eyes. "Potter, detention for failing to adhere to school dress code!" Everyone at the table started getting riled up, so Harry decided to ease their worries.

"The dress code only applies to actual school hours. Since class hasn't yet started, I think I'm perfectly allowed to wear whatever I want, as long as it hides my genitals from the adoring public." Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned his private places, because he saw several girls' eyes around the Great Hall briefly flit to his crotch area. Some of them were even upper years! Not sure whether it was because of his dashing good looks or fame, he just turned his attention back to Snape.

"Then detention for cheek!" yelled the Potions Master. Everyone started looking annoyed again, and he caught several more not-so-discreet glances from girls around the room, eyeing him like a piece of meat. Okay, maybe it was the fame.

Deciding he didn't care anymore, Harry acquiesced, "Alright, I give up. You win." Snape sneered at him before turning and walking away, seemingly satisfied that he won. "When is this detention supposed to be?" he asked.

Snape turned to him and said, "Friday night, after dinner," before returning to the staff table. Several Gryffindors muttered about the unfairness of his treatment towards Harry, but none loud enough for the old bat to hear them. They didn't want the same treatment as Harry after all. At that moment, the food began appearing and everyone quickly forgot about his problems as they started loading their plates with the fried foods of Hogwarts. If it weren't for magic, the magical population would be _so_ overweight.

After Harry ate his fill the morning post began pouring in. He received a letter from Gringotts.

_Dear Lord Peverell,_

_I have received the Diedem of Ravenclaw from your house elf, Derpy. To avoid future interceptions of classified mail, I'd recommend using her as a courier for now on. Now we've gotten three of the six horcruxes; the Gaunt Ring, the Diedem of Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff's Cup. We have no way to enter the House of Black, as only those who are descended from that family can enter it. Since you have their bloodline, you may enter the premise and retrieve Slytherin's Locket. We still don't know where Riddle's Diary is, nor the whereabouts of the Brazilian Boa Constrictor named Nagini._

_Before you can negotiate a contract with the Patil patriarch, you need the written consent of your current betrothed. If Ms. Chang agrees to share you, she will have to come to Gringotts and personally sign off in a similar manner as the last contract. After that, you are free to engage the Patils in political finesse in regards to their eldest daughter, Padma. They will likely want a similar stipulation as the Chang family, so heads up._

_Also, we have evidence to believe that you still have ownership over the Invisibility Cloak and Elder Wand according to our records. If you can reclaim the Resurrection Stone's allegiance after the Purification Ritual cleanses Voldemort's taint from the Gaunt Family Ring, then you may be able to regain access to that Vault though you still won't be able to personally access the liquid gold. Even the small amount that I removed from the Vault before it closed is unable to be touched by you or your magic._

_There is evidence to suggest that once Voldemort's existence is ended once and for all, you will gain access to the Slytherin, Gaunt, and Riddle Vaults respectively. There won't be any gold, but there will be ancient tomes on dark arts such as blood magic, soul magic, necromancy, and even demonology. There are things in each of those Vauls that I'm personally glad Voldemort never got his evil hands on, otherwise he could have waged the entire war on his own and possibly won. Once you have finished collecting the horcruxes, the Purification Ritual is over, and you've redeemed your claim over the final Deathly Hallow, I would like you to visit each of those Vaults._

_Now on to the matter of your unique guardianship position. While i__t seems that the ancient magic controlling the vaults still acknowledged Sirius Black as your guardian, Dumbledore has been appointed as the steward of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, giving him minor control over the Potter Vault. There have been many questionable withdrawals over the past decade, totaling at around five hundred thousand galleons. As he has no claims over any of the artifacts in the Vaults, they are still intact. The Goblin Nation will pursue this matter in any way we see fit._

_As for getting Mr. Black exonerated, the Ministry seems firmly against it. The Minister and his Senior Undersecretary are adamantly trying their best to turn the majority of the Wizengammot against your godfather. It is likely that, without somebody to corroborate Sirius's testimony under Veritaserum, he could be found guilty in a trial and sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. You mentioned that you knew who actually did it and where they are. Bringing in that person would be a huge benefit to his case._

_Sincerely,_

_Ragnok, King of the Goblin Nation and President of Gringotts._

After thinking everything over, Harry got up and wandered over to the Ravenclaw table with Susan Bones on his arm. He sat next to Cho and she yelped in surprise when his arm automatically wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer before realizing who he was. He grinned and kissed her on the cheek before saying, "Hello, Love." He didn't notice Susan momentarily scowl.

She smiled at his new petname for her, replying, "Hello, Love Monkey." Several people in the vicinity started mysteriously coughing their food or spitting their drinks out. He glared at her in mock annoyance before hanging his head in defeat. Susan looked either amused or annoyed, probably both, but didn't voice a complaint so Harry didn't point anything out.

At that moment, the Weasley Twins, who had overheard the entire exchange, started making whipping noises. Many guys laughed, but Harry noticed a lot of girls looking decidedly annoyed at all the attention Cho was getting from him at the moment. Was he really that special in their eyes? Deciding to test whether he was being narcissistic or they truly did find him attractive, Harry placed his chin on Cho's shoulder. Several girls, Susan included, made huffing noises and turned away. Yep, they definitely liked him.

Smiling at his discovery, Harry whispered into Cho's ear, "Cho, we've got something to talk about. I asked Ragnok if there was a way to appease the Goblin Triad while still marrying you, and he's found a way. While the Chang family is their competition, the Patils are their dealers. If I enter an arranged marriage with Padma Patil, they won't take offense to our marriage."

She whispered right back, "So we can't get married until your godfather is exonerated of his crimes or found guilty and passes guardianship along to someone else. Then after that you need to marry someone else to appease a criminal organization before our marriage?" She sounded vaguely amused, which Harry took as a good sign.

"Yes?" he replied weakly.

She laughed, flicked his nose, and said, "Anything for you, Love Monkey. But why must everything that involves you be so complicated?" They were soon both clutching their sides, laughing uncontrollably at just how strange their situation was getting. "I'm not sure you're worth all the effort," she said lightheartedly.

He grinned back and said, "I think that was my line." The both relapsed into even greater mirth, the intensity of which made it contagious. Soon nearby people were laughing along with them, despite not having a clue about what was so funny. Human psychology was just weird like that. Grinning, Harry said, "I need to get ready for the day now, otherwise I'll be late to class." She nodded happily in understanding and he left.

On his way back to Gryffindor Tower, he ran into Peeves again. "Good morning Peeves," he said happily.

The poltergeist eagerly replied, "Hello. Have you come up with a prank to start the competition off?"

At that moment, they heard Snape start yelling all the way from the Great Hall's staff table, "Short and stout!"

Harry smirked. Once a day, everyday for the next two months, Professor Snape will arbitrarily yell a line of the lyrics for I'm A Little Teapot at random times and start dancing like a loon as long as he's in the Great Hall with more than twenty witnesses. He'd like to slowly get the rest of the staff to do so over the course of the year and eventually have them all doing an entire musical number. But that's beside the point. "How about we bake _special_ brownies and have the house elves serve them at lunch?" asked Harry evilly.

Peeves pulled his head back and let out a mighty bellow of sheer delight. All nearby portraits cowered or ran away, and a knight on a fat pony yelled, "Sir Cadogan will fight any evil he comes across, but the last time Peeves laughed like that was when that blundering caretaker Rancorous Carpe supplied him with deadly weapons! I don't want the castle evacuated again!"

The poltergeist promptly disappeared, but his mad cackling echoed ominously through the castle. Wondering if he was going to regret setting the spirit loose, Harry shrugged and continued his journey to Gryffindor Tower. He didn't notice a pale Ron Weasley eavesdropping on his conversation. Once the Boy-Who-Lived returned to the empty dorm room, his house elf reappeared.

"Derpy, you're back so soon. Good job!" said Harry brightly.

The house elf almost cried tears of joy upon receiving such compliments, "Oh Master is a good Master! What would Master have Derpy do next?"

Harry smiled and said, "Tell me how things went during your last assignment."

Derpy beamed and said, "Master is so kind to send Derpy on such laborious missions! Derpy tried to use magic to retrieve the Diedem of Ravenclaw, but the room blocked all magic, so Derpy had to search by hand for it. Luckily Derpy can sense magic and it only took ten hours to find!"

Harry gulped and said, "Derpy, you don't have to work so hard if you don't want to."

But the house elf didn't take kindly to that. "Is Derpy being a bad elf? Derpy isn't deserving of the Master!" screeched the house elf as it started bangig its head on the nearest solid object, Harry's bedpost.

"Derpy, stop!" yelled Harry. The house elf immediately stilled, though she looked like she wanted to continue punishing herself. "Derpy, you are forbidden from punishing yourself in my presence ever again!" yelled Harry. The elf nodded sadly, as if told Christmas was canceled. He sighed, suddenly remembering that house elves were incredibly temperamental and any random comment could set them off. At least, mistreated house elves were... In a much kinder voice, he continued, "Derpy, you said you could sense magic?"

Derpy nodded slowly. "Did you notice anything dark about the Diedem?" asked Harry. Again, Derpy nodded silently. "Can you remember what that dark feeling felt like?" asked Harry, his voice gentle. Derpy nodded once more and Harry said, "I want you to search the rest of the castle for anything else that felt like that, okay?" The house elf smiled and disappeared with a pop. Harry shook his head to clear the headache that was coming on from his dealings with the elf before getting ready for the day.

Thirty minutes later, Harry found himself entering the Charms classroom as soon as class officially started, earning a warning from the diminutive Professor Flitwick but that's all it required. Harry sat down in between Susan and Hannah, making them smile. Flitwick immediately began roll call, as opposed to giving a speech about his subject. When he got to Harry's name, he gave an excited squeak and toppled off the small pile of books he used to see over his desk. Everyone laughed.

Since the Gryffindors had Charms with the Hufflepuffs, he was in a classroom with Ron Weasley. The ginger was so abrasive that nobody wanted to sit next to him. It seemed that the only reason that people hung out with him in the original timeline was his proximity to Harry. And the reason Harry had so few close friends was likely Ron's fault. Deciding not to dwell on the past... er... alternatives, Harry paid attention to Flitwick when he regained his position. "Well, for the first class, I plan on having everyone get to know each other."

And so Harry introduced himself to Ernie MacMilan, Zacharias Smith, Ron Weasley, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Wayne Hopkins, Megan Jones, Eloise Midgen, Fay Dunbar, Kellah, and Leanne. None of those people particularly struck him as important, so he was polite but not as inviting as he was with the Ravenclaws and his fellow Gryffindors. No, he spent more time talking to the Patil twins and charming them. Both Indian girls were cute, so he didn't mind Ragnok's advice at all. Before long, the class was over and it was lunchtime. Harry couldn't help but notice the smell of brownies wafting through the entire castle. "Oh I can't wait for this," he said evilly.

This time Harry started eating at Ravenclaw, mostly for Cho and Daphne. The blonde said, "So I hear you're planning on arranging another marriage?" She'd just eaten a nearby brownie before the main course of her lunch, and Harry couldn't wait for the chaos to start up in a few minutes.

Harry sighed and looked pointedly at Cho, "There's a reason that conversation was whispered, you know." Both witches laughed when they saw his lip involuntarily twitch. It was getting increasingly hard to keep his mask of indifference up around those two. "Yes I am, though I'd prefer you kept that information to yourself. Its kind of a necessity at the moment."

Cho grinned and kissed his cheek, "You really are trying hard for me, aren't you?"

He grinned and said, "Anything for you, Love." At his words, Daphne sighed impatiently. Both members of the couple turned to her with raised eyebrows. "What is it?" asked Harry, his interest piqued.

"You two are so lovey dovey all the time. Eleven year olds don't act like that," she said sternly. Harry and Cho immediately jumped apparent, realizing that Daphne was right and they were acting suspiciously mature for their ages.

Cho wildly changed the subject, "So Daphne, why aren't you dating anyone? You're a catch!" A lot of people in the nearby vicinity were starting to go into a dreamy daze, or becoming decidedly giddy. Harry smirked.

Her face remained impassive as she said, "I'm not really into the whole dating thing. Besides, the only guy I'd date is currently spoken for."

Harry said, "Oh, come on. You're beautiful. I'm sure you could snag whatever guy it is that you're pining after." Cho and Daphne exchanged a glance before his fiance turned to him with a strange look on her face.

"Harry... you know I love you, right?" she asked. Feeling slightly apprehensive at her tone, or perhaps nauseated, Harry nodded. She looked shy, as if wondering why she was even considering suggesting this to him. "Well, I won't be able to keep you to myself. You know, the whole polygamy thing? Um... I'm fine with you being with other girls, as long as I approve of them." Harry just stared at her, wondering if his prank was causing this line of thought.

Daphne helpfully added, "You need to get used to dating and marrying multiple people. Padma, Cho... they're just the beginning. In fact, if there weren't a marriage contract between me and Jeremiah Lestrange, I'd offer myself up to you so nobody abusive could claim me. But unfortunately, I'm stuck with that junior Death Eater..." She looked like she was on the verge of busting out with laughter at her terrible fate. She was going to _kill_ Harry if she ever found out about the brownies.

Without even thinking about it, Harry hugged Daphne to console her about her future. Cho had a faraway look on her face, likely thinking of a way to get Daphne out of such an awful arrangement. Either that, or her brownie was starting to kick in. It occurred to Harry that Peeves might have used magic to make the effects of the _special_ brownies kick in much sooner than he expected. "Harry... I'd approve of Daphne..." Before the conversation could continue with his awkward response to her claim that he should date her friend and her at the same time, a note landed on their table seemingly from nowhere. Harry opened it and began to read it.

_Dear Harry,_

_I would greatly appreciate it if you would join me for a quick discussion in my office as soon as lunch is over. You will be given an excuse for being tardy to Herbology. The password to enter is 'Acid Pops.'_

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

"Well this can't be good," said Harry with a slight amount of trepidation tinging his voice. What did he do to gain the Headmaster's attention? Did the old man know his secret? Or was there some other reason that he was being called up to Dumbledore's office? At that moment, people started noticing that the tables were continuously producing more and more food, and it was starting to spill off of the platters and onto the table and floor. Harry smirked and said, "The house elves in the kitchen don't eat food as they make it, do they?"

"All great chefs do that," replied a fellow first year that he hadn't yet talked to. But then again, it was only the second day of school. The Ravenclaw girl looked and sounded remarkably familiar to him, but he didn't quite recognize her. It took a few minutes, but he suddenly remembered her as the Chang family's talkative servant.

Harry smirked and said, "You shouldn't cook when you're hungry. It makes you prepare too much food." This was turning out to be better and better than he originally hoped.

"Was there bad news in your note?" asked Cho's servant.

"Nothing that I can't handle," he said confidently. "Well I'd better get going so I can meet up with Dumbledore. I'll see you guys later, okay?" Food was starting to fill the whole room, but the kids kept eating and eating.

He overheard one guy saying, "Its not that I'm hungry or anything, just that I feel empty. And why let so much food go to waste?" Everybody who had already eaten brownies nodded along lazily with his logic and continued shoveling food into their mouths. This was going to be a disgusting scene in a few minutes.

All three girls collectively said their goodbyes as he left, before turning to each other and whispering fervently to one another. Deciding to ignore the uncomfortable vibe they gave off, knowing that they were talking about him, Harry quickly left the Great Hall. For some reason he was both annoyed and somewhat happy that they were talking about him. It proved he was worth talking about. He waved at the Headmaster as he left the Great Hall, deciding to use the fastest route possible to beat Dumbledore.

The walk to his office was halted by the abrupt arrival of Peeves. "GOT YOUR CONK!" screamed the poltergeist as it grappled onto his nose and suddenly became visible. Harry was surprised, but held it in pretty well. "Oi, Potter. I liked your idea, especially now that most of the kids are puking up their guts from overeating!"

Harry laughed and said, "Thank you, thank you. Now we must wait for the twins' retaliatory strike. I suspect it won't be for a few days, but you can rest assured that its coming." They both evilly cackled and went on their merry ways, Harry to Dumbledore's office and Peeves to terrorize Mrs. Norris the cat. Within minutes, Harry was saying, "Acid Pops," to the gargoyle that led to Dumbledore's office.

He heard the venerable old man's voice reply, "Enter." Somehow, despite the old man being in the middle of a meal and heavy conversation when Harry left, Dumbledore beat him to his office. Harry ruminated on the possibility that he utilized Phoenix Travel, but surely that was a bit overkill? Knowing the eccentric Headmaster, he likely did that just to impress Harry. Deciding not to react, Harry's face slowly returned to the blank mask he held up when around any other members of Hogwarts Staff.

"Hello Headmaster. I must say that I'm surprised by this. I didn't think you'd reach out to me personally, at least not so early in my educational career," said Harry. If Dumbledore didn't hear the almost imperceptible sarcastic tone to his voice, it would sound as if he were implying that he intended to earn the old man's respect and attention honestly, but if he did hear the tone, he'd know that Harry was wary of his strange behavior as of late since he was usually more subtle in his manipulations. Plus it was a veiled question that hopefully got the conversation going in the way he wanted.

Dumbledore's eyes lost their iconic twinkle and he said, "I'm afraid to tell you that your guardians, the Dursley family, has been found dead in a hotel. Apparently there was a string of arson's in the area while they were enjoying a vacation in France. Their bodies were unidentified for nearly a month, which is why you weren't told sooner. I'm sorry for your loss." So after the Dursleys assaulted him and left him to die in a ditch, they ran away to France? Or were they the alleged 'nice family' that supposedly found him and brought him to the clinic? No matter, they were now dead. While Harry hadn't been holding a grudge over them, he wasn't particularly fond of his once-subservient guardians.

Acting choked up with emotions would likely be the proper response, if the adult telling him the horrible news hadn't placed him there with the sole knowledge that they were going to abuse him. But he couldn't act happy either, because then he'd be labeled as a psychopath by Dumbledore and held under even heavier scrutiny. If he acted apathetic but allowed tinges of sadness and fear show through fake cracks, that should appease the old man. So Harry closed his eyes and said in an only slightly wavering voice, "They're dead?" Harry wondered whether that fire was natural or not. If it wasn't, was it a coincidence?

What were the stages of acceptance of death again? Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance? Well here goes something. "They can't be dead," he said with the tone of one being forced to acknowledge death for the first time. "I mean, their vacation did get extended a bit, but I thought they might have had a problem with their passport... o-or, or maybe they..." He gulped, placing emphasis on his clenched throat, pale face, and somewhat watery eyes. He was currently pinching himself under the robes to get the tears to show up.

"Its alright Harry. It isn't your fault," said Dumbledore in a soothing tone. If Harry were a regular child, he would've immediately began blaming himself after that statement. It was a veiled barb, used for the inception of the idea that everything was his fault. Basic reverse psychology in action, except infinitely devious on the part of the Headmaster. That heartless bastard was trying to emotionally manipulate him while he was supposedly grieving over the family that, from Dumbledore's perspective, likely abused and neglected Harry!

Harry allowed a single tear to slide down his cheek, wondering why he shouldn't just reveal that he's from the future or assassinate the old man on the spot. Of course he thought these things without every making eye contact for fear of his flimsy mental defenses being callously pushed aside by the master's probing tendrils of legilimentic energy, but Harry covered that with nervousness at meeting the famous wizard at first, then as being too distraught to look up. Harry wiped away the tear and said, "Why must everybody that is cursed with the burden of my existence be forced to die?" That sort of morbid thought process wasn't in normal children, but now Harry was playing on the expected past of abuse.

"And I don't have anything to remember my own parents by, let alone the people that r-raised me," he whispered, staring off into space. He let that thought sink in, hoping the old man would give him back his invisibility cloak sooner rather than later, as he abruptly stood. "I-I'm sorry Professor, but I need some alone time. I'll be in my class..." The Headmaster nodded sagely, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Hopefully Harry's inconsistent yet emotional performance would confuse the old man. Look underneath the underneath, as Kakashi Hatake once said.

As Harry began traipsing to the Greenhouses for his first class of Herbology, he thought about how he'd introduce the idea of a marriage contract to the Patil family, or even how he'd convince Padma to go through with it. Things were coming to a head on the Gringotts and Hogwarts fronts, so now all he had to do was set up contact with the Ministry and continue working towards the Wizengammot. Everything was going according to plan...

Before he knew it, he was in Greenhouse Number 1 and being given another lecture on how this subject was important by Professor Sprout. All in all his conversation with Dumbledore lasted all of about five minutes. They were just very intense minutes. For their first lesson they began talking about the different families of plants, and Harry found himself flirting with Padma to ease the transition from 'acquaintances' to 'spouses'. It would be a long journey fraught with peril if the glares he was receiving from Hermione, Susan, and Lavender were anything to go by.

Sometimes being a handsome wealthy nobleman with cunning, daring, individuality, and charisma was so hard.

Dinner in the Great Hall was a subdued affair, not many people having the appetite to eat after the events of lunch. Though the house elves magically cleaned everything up, there was still a sense of discomfort among the students. Even a few teachers looked annoyed, and eyes kept darting accusingly towards Fred and George Weasley, who mysteriously hadn't been prone to overeating when exposed to marijuana. "They must've built up a tolerance on their own time..." said Harry musing aloud. Luckily nobody noticed.

That night, Harry wrote a reply to Ragnok and a letter to Fudge. Derpy had yet to return from her mission which wasn't surprising given the scope of her mission, and Harry had a strange dream broken into fragments like all the rest of them.

_Senior was in a forgotten ancient Roman library, staring into the dusty pages of an archaic tome, barely able to comprehend what it said, "The soul is what gathers the natural energy leaking from Earth's ley lines to regulate complicated biological designs such as Deoxyribonucleic Acid. It transfers all energy to the inner magical core where it is processed."_

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**A/N: I hope you guys like this better than the original Hogwarts chapter, because I certainly do.**


	10. Postulates on Morality

**A/N: I've yet to see Harry accept Wormtail's actions and actually forgive him. This is how I think a manipulative bastard like myself would've handled the situation. I hope you enjoy :)**

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Harry woke up covered in sweat, shivering uncontrollably with the sheets of his four poster bed coiled around him. He could tell by the darkness that it was too early for him to get ready for the day, but he doubted he could get back to sleep. The dream he just had, while being infinitely scary, was too fragmented and jarring for him to properly remember. He idly noticed that, despite his obvious stress, he felt a strange twinge of happiness. The euphoria was foreign, not coming from him. And that meant that Voldemort himself was happy.

But Senior said that he couldn't feel emotions through their link until the Dark Lord reclaimed his body. Harry shuddered involuntarily at the thought. While he was probably more prepared to fight Tom than any other eleven year old, he wasn't quite ready to take on the fully resurrected dark wizard. He was decent with Legilimency and poor at Occlumency, and his only real strength was offensive spellcasting. And while he understood the theory behind fairly advanced magic, he didn't know the individual spells that he would use to put Voldemort down for good.

He needed to start studying harder than before, especially if Voldemort was already back. But then again, the piece of Tom Riddle residing in him was stronger now that it wasn't held down by Dumbledore's repressive boundaries on his magic, body, and mind. Was the leeching horcrux gaining enough strength to reconnect with its master? That was a frightening thought, but the most plausible. Could it possess him at some point? Could it invite the shade of Voldemort into his body? And then there was the mental link. What if Voldemort got a hold of the precious information in his mind? His foreknowledge alone could mean the end of the world in the hands of that lunatic, but if details of his plan were to suddenly be leaked...

Feeling restless, Harry got out of bed, still in his pajamas, and left the first year boy's dorm. There was something that he'd been meaning to do for a while now, but he just hadn't had time. Hogwarts was keeping him fairly busy so far, despite only being there for two days. He had his wand in his right hand and the Marauder's Map in his left. It was surprising that the Weasley twins hadn't asked for it back yet, considering it was already the third day of school. Shrugging noncommittally, Harry quietly made his way to the Room of Requirement. He was glad that there wasn't any members of the staff or ghosts on the floor, but the portraits were going to be a problem. He needed to learn some stealth charms soon, otherwise they would rat him out to Dumbledore.

And speaking of the old man, when was he going to get his Invisibility Cloak? It was rightfully his, yet the Headmaster decided to give it to him as a Christmas present the first time. He wondered idly how many other presents the man gave Senior during the original timeline that were already his to begin with. The Nimbus 2000 was likely bought with his own money, so it wasn't a present. Though he did let him get onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team in his first year with a decent broom. The Sword of Gryffindor was likely his, considering that he was the heir to that name and all. That's why he could pull it out of the sorting hat. "_Only a true Gryffindor can reclaim the Sword_," or something like that. So why bother trying to give it to him in a will? Why not acknowledge that it was rightfully his?

Ruminating on the Professor's odd behavior made the short journey from Gryffindor Tower to the Room of Requirement even shorter. And when Harry stood in front of the Tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy trying to teach trolls how to dance, the door appeared before him just as Senior said it would. He entered with a smile on his face. This was absolutely perfect for what he had in mind. He willed the door and any other entrances to and from the room to disappear. Harry was the master of the Room of Requirement as long as he had stronger willpower than anybody else, but he still couldn't take the chance of the rat escaping.

Smiling in satisfaction that his alterations were complete, he said, "Derpy!" The house elf immediately appeared before him, smiling brightly.

"Does Master wish Derpy to stop searching for dark artifacts?" she asked questioningly.

He smiled and said, "I'd like it if you continued to do that, but I have a quick errand for you to perform." Derpy's eyes were swimming with happiness. "But before I send you on your way, can you tell me what you've found so far?"

The house elf nodded eagerly and said, "Oh yes! Derpy has found thirteen S-Rank dark artifacts, and thirty two A-Rank dark artifacts so far. Where would Master like to store these items?"

In only a few hours, Derpy had discovered forty five dark artifacts in Hogwarts, the supposedly safest place in all of the United Kingdom. Feeling gobsmacked, Harry said, "Alright, place all those dark objects in the last compartment of my magical trunk. You should have access to it because you're bound to me magically. After that, break into the Hufflepuff first year boys' dorm room and steal Ronald Weasley's pet rat Scabbers. Then bring that rat here." The house elf smiled and disappeared.

Within seconds Derpy reappeared with the still sleeping Scabbers cradle in her arm. Harry willed the room to conjure an unbreakable glass jar and placed Scabbers in it, saying, "Wake up Scabbers!" before turning to his house elf and gently saying, "You're free to return to collecting dark artifacts Derpy." She disappeared with a faint pop just as the traitorous Marauder discovered its predicament. Harry stared at the rat, wondering if it could work. He made eye contact with the rat, and it was over.

He immediately began rooting through the rat's mind. This would be one of his greatest accomplishments to date, if he got it to work properly. Harry was using his entire repertoire of Illusionary skills to subdue the rat. It was fairly easy to magically manipulate the emotions of the people around you, as long as you were already connected to their mind through Legilimency. Since he had yet to learn proper compulsion, memory editing, or personality changing charms, he was stuck with this much more tedious and inefficient route.

Emotions were largely the result of external stimuli introducing stress causing chemical physiological changes in the brain, thus they are tied to the body as opposed to the mind. But for some reason it was easier to control them with a stranglehold on somebody's mind than without. Harry planned on researching why this is at some later time, but right now he had a job to do. It took nearly ten minutes for Harry to suppress the rat's fearful, stressed mental condition into a calm, submissive state. Then Harry let the rat out of the jar.

"Peter Pettigrew, I am aware of the role you played in my parents' deaths," said Harry. He could feel a small pinprick of fear beginning to regrow in the rat, but he beat it back and sent soothing feelings into it. "I also am aware of how you got my godfather incarcerated," he continued. Again the fear grew, and again Harry crushed it back down. "However, I realize that you weren't given any other option. Everything we do, everything we are, is nothing more than the result of our experiences. I don't believe in Fate or anything else as pointless as that. I do believe that how we're nurtured is more important to who we are than what Nature intended. This is why I can accept what you did. You had no other choice in the matter."

Interested in Harry's views, Scabbers morphed into Peter Pettigrew before his eyes. "What do you mean?" asked Peter.

Harry smiled and said, "This is one of the few things that I agree with Dumbledore and Voldemort on: there is no such thing as good or evil. But that's where they begin to differ. Voldemort thinks that there is only the powerful and weak. Dummbledore thinks there is only order and discord. But I, rather than shooting down the views of my enemies, have decided to analyze their views. I've decided that both are correct. Pettigrew, did you know that Dumbledore personally and deliberately destroyed your bonds of friendship with the other Marauders for the sole purpose of keeping them on the right path? Did you know that he wanted to use you to inadvertently pass along misinformation during the last war? Did you know he treated Snape in a similar manner?"

"You... you don't hate me? You don't even blame me for any of my past sins?" asked Pettigrew tentatively, not believing a word of it. But Harry could feel a sense of hope in the man. Harry would kindle that hope, and use it for his own gains.

Peter was quivering, though no longer with fear. It took a few seconds, but Harry felt anger starting to grow inside the Marauder. "I don't blame you for what happened to James, Lily, or Sirius because you are the creation of Dumbledore's scheming, Peter. He would have done anything to kill off Voldemort, even going so far as to sacrifice his most loyal followers at the drop of a hat! Do you understand why? Because he's a fanatic that believes that order, creation, and stagnation are better than discord, destruction, and change! He doesn't realize that its a cycle, not a scale! I..." At this point Harry realized he was ranting and Pettigrew was staring at him with awe.

"You aren't a follower of Dumbledore, nor are you a follower of Voldemort," said Peter, as if a third possibility had never crossed his mind. For too long, the British magical society had been split into two obvious camps, waging a bipolar war. There may have been a decade long lull in the action, but it was merely a cold war. Both sides were rebuilding their numbers and bolstering their strengths. Soon the war would recommence, but it would evolve into a tripolar war. Harry would use the overt style of Voldemort to hide his covert style of Dumbledore to win. He would go on the offensive and use lethal force against the Death Eaters, to simply be a distraction or used as leverage to gain control over the Ministry. It would be a while before the day would come, but Harry already had a game plan.

"No, and I would urge you to do the same. I would let you leave the United Kingdom if I could, but I need you. You are the best chance at getting my godfather exonerated, which will get me one step closer to gaining my emancipation. I will tell you my plan, and even swear a magical oath that its true, despite you not having any mental defenses. You are no mere pawn in my game as you would be with Tom or Albus, but a knight," said Harry.

Peter stared at him, as if trying to discern whether Harry was trying to deceive him or not. "Alright. But how are you planning on hiding it from Dumbledore? He's a master Legilimens, and I have no Occlumency at all. Plus, there's no way to lie under Veritaserum which would likely be used on me during the trial," said Pettigrew.

Harry grinned and said, "I'm going to be learning how to do memory charms in my spare time. You know, deleting, editing, copying, etc? Well that's how we're going to do this. Before I tell you your role in my plan, you must swear a magical oath to stay in this room until I have mastered the art of editing memories. It should take a few weeks since I plan on testing it out some of my peers, but that will be necessary anyway. After I change your memories, your testimony under both Veritaserum and Legilimency will be false but unable to be proven so."

Pettigrew nodded and said, "Alright, so what will you make my testimony be?"

Harry smiled and said, "I require an oath for that confidential information."

Peter nodded, held out his wand, and said, "I, Peter Pettigrew, do solemnly swear by my magic that I will remain in this place, the Room of Requirement, until Harry Potter has edited my memories."

Harry nodded and said, "So mote it be." There was a brief flash of light as magic rushed between the two. "And now this is what you'll think really happened on that fateful night..." It took nearly three hours to explain how Peter was supposed to do everything, and every possible consequence to this information. And Harry would need to edit the memories of another person before this even began, someone not within his reach at the moment. Luckily, Harry could easily set up an appointment with his intended victim...

By the time Harry left the Room of Requirement and returned to Gryffindor Tower, the children of noble families already left for breakfast. He still didn't know why they bothered showing up so early to meals and classes, but didn't really care enough to really ask. He didn't let the fact that he was the heir to two Most Ancient and Noble Houses and two Founder Houses respectively control his behavior. In fact, he was more inclined to causing rampant chaos with Peeves and the Weasley twins in tow because of it.

It only took him about ten minutes to take a shower and brush his teeth. By the time he was done, Dean and Seamus were up. The two were in the middle of a conversation when Harry walked back into the dorm room to get dressed, but quickly stopped talking when they noticed him. Seamus quickly got up and walked into the bathroom, and roughly slammed into Harry on his way in, seemingly on purpose. Harry was about to say something in annoyance when the other boy spoke up, "Oh, sorry Potter. Didn't see you there."

That was probably the most immature and laughably lame thing he'd ever heard in his entire life, which was saying something considering his close proximity to Dudley Dursley. But for some reason, maybe his lack of a good night's rest, Harry felt his irritation at the boy spike and his mouth automatically saying, "You got a problem, Finnegan?"

The Irish boy spun around with a flustered face and said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I've got a problem with you."

"Me?" asked Harry in something between confusion and derision. "What have I ever done give you a problem with me? And for that matter all the other boys in the school. The only one that seems remotely nice is Neville, but he's so quiet I barely notice him unless Snape is bullying the poor kid!"

Dean tried to cut in, "Guys, I don't think we should be fighting since we'll be sharing a dorm room for the next seven years-"

But Seamus yelled, "Everyone takes Harry bloody fucking Potter's side over anyone else! All the girls fawn over him because of his fame, wealth, and status! The teachers all line up to lick his boots except for Snape, who even then treats him different than the rest of us. I, for one, am sick and tired of hearing about the Boy-Who-Lived being famous for something nobody even fucking understands! I bet I could take you in a fight!"

His shouts woke up various boys from the upper years who came down. "Fight?" asked Weasley Twin 1.

"Fight," replied Weasley Twin A.

"Fight!" yelled a nameless fifth year boy.

Soon a crowd was forming outside the first year boys' dorm room, chanting "Fight, fight, fight, fight!" So Seamus, being the hotheaded idiot that he is, decided to try punching Harry in the stomach. Unluckily for the Irish boy, his opponent was forced to learn martial arts to an advanced degree by an older version of himself since he was five. Now being eleven, he'd spent over six years learning Karate and Pankration.

Since those two styles were as radically different as they could possibly be, Harry's body was almost as versatile as a wand. Of course he'd lose in a humiliating fashion against a master of the various arts, but against an enraged eleven year old whose body showed signs of living the lazy life typical of wizards everywhere it was incredibly effective.

As the punch came towards him, Harry tilted his body to the side and let Seamus go sailing past. But then he grabbed his opponent by the collar bone and sticking his leg out, ripping the boy's foothold to the ground and slamming him face first into a nearby wall. There was a very audible crack when Seamus hit the cobblestone wall, but not from his nose as one would expect. No, it was the sound of his collar bone being broken in three separate places.

Harry didn't like using such tactics against somebody so inexperienced and utterly worthless in his eyes, but he needed to make a statement to the school at large: anybody who fucked with him would be put back in their place by any means necessary. It was mainly for the benefit of the Slytherins, but others would do well to remember poor Seamus before attempting to do anything. Sighing, Harry finished putting on his clothes and made his way out. The crowd of onlookers dramatically parted for him, and he dramatically yawned. People were already whispering about the disagreement with his housemate.

If he was lucky, it'd somehow already traveled to the Great Hall and he wouldn't have to repeat his actions for some time. If it hadn't already, it would be by at least lunchtime. He walked silently to his destination, already thinking up excuses he could use to get out of any punishment that might be thrown his way. But then again, the entire argument was over how he received special treatment. Would it make him a hypocrite if he beat the snot out of somebody for suggesting such a thing, then demanding it himself?

Then again he hadn't denied it, and Seamus started both the argument and the fight. It was all the kid's fault, though he had no doubt that Dumbledore would be 'forced' to punish him. The old man would likely use this as a teachable moment, while trying to also gain some manner of trust and loyalty with Harry. Oh, Harry could act the part, but he didn't know how long he could hold it up. Sure enough, as soon as he entered the Great Hall, all conversation stopped and people stared at him.

He overheard several giggles and snippets of whispered conversation from girls, claiming him to be a bad boy or something of that sort. Harry almost groaned at the irony of it all, but was stopped when Dumbledore said, "Mr. Potter, a word?" With a sigh, Harry nodded and approached his Headmaster. This morning's incident could easily be played off as anger at the deaths of his guardians, so he'd use that as an excuse. Unless of course the old man already knew how little he cared about the Dursleys. The fact that they beat and abandoned him the last time he saw them made their deaths seem almost like justice in a way, possibly even karmic retribution of a sorts.

Professor Flitwick stared unabashed at Harry, thinking about his strange behavior. The boy seemed to have his mother's temper and his father's lack of judgement, according to the rumors circulating about the fight he just had. The boy was unscathed, which showed that either there was no fight, or the boy was far better at physical acts of aggression than could be healthy for one so young. The Professor was unashamed to admit that Harry intrigued him, if only a little.

There was a daring sense of cunning that could be attributed to the child, something that seemed a perfect combination of Lily and James. Flitwick actually shivered when he remembered just how powerful and vicious the two could be. Yes, death had lightened them in many people's minds, but Flitwick remembered the tenacity of James as he attempted to court her, the viciousness he struck at Severus with, the ingenuity of Lily when it came to hexes and insults, and the ease with which she tore apart any who started rumors about her. Just what _was_ Harry going to be like this year?

Dumbledore continued in a quieter tone now that Harry was closer, "Harry, did you and Mr. Finnegan get into an altercation this morning?" The familiarity with which Albus spoke to Harry when they were away from the eavesdropping of the other students wasn't lost to Flitwick, McGonagall, or Snape. Nor was the slight narrowing of Harry's eyes or thinning of his lips.

The boy noticed Dumbledore's ploy at cultivating trust, and apparently didn't like it. But in a decidedly lighter manner, the boy replied, "Yes, and I'm sorry that it happened despite it not being my fault." Snape rolled his eyes, but luckily Harry only seemed to have eyes for the Headmaster. "He bumped into me, complained that I got special treatment, then proceeded to attempt to fight me. Between him and... my guardians, I kind of lost it." At this point the child looked guilty and Dumbledore looked... greedy?

Whoever taught him politics was obviously a master, but the child still needed to work on his poker face. All three were acting as if they weren't watching him, but in actuality they were paying more attention to him than any other student before him. Flitwick contemplated starting up a Poker Club just to help the boy out. Yes, the Charms Professor had known and worked with Dumbledore for a little more than fifty years, but Harry caught his intrigue. Something about the Boy-Who-Lived screamed, 'will cause radical changes to the world around me without a second thought on the matter,' just like it had for Tom Riddle when he was younger, or even Albus Dumbledore when he first came here.

The only question was, who would the child emulate?

If his reaction to Dumbledore's ploy was anything to go by, Harry would likely turn his back on the old man and the morally higher road. And someone as obviously gifted as Harry could rival the power of the other two in a matter of years, though he was already likely a force to be reckoned with. All three were special, the kind of superiority that only shows up once every few generations.

The old man nodded, "I'm sorry to say that even though it wasn't your fault, Mr. Finnegan is right in that there won't be any special treatment given to you. Since you were involved in a muggle-styled duel, you will serve a detention alongside Mr. Finnegan. You will be serving that detention with Hagrid, Friday night."

Harry blurted out, "But I already have a detention Friday night with Snape."

"_Professor_ Snape," admonished Dumbledore. "And your detention with him is in the evening. Your detention with Hagrid will take place at _night_. You will be searching in the Forbidden Forest for something that has been harming the local unicorns along with Mr. Finnegan as a form of bonding." Harry sighed dejectedly as he returned to the Gryffindor table, all boys giving him a wide berth but all girls trying to squeeze as much into his personal space as possible. The boy looked disgruntled and annoyed with their attention, but remained polite to them.

Flitwick felt his eyebrows rise in surprise at such a dangerous punishment, and McGonagall's mirrored his. But neither voiced their opinions on the matter. Snape looked positively gleeful that Harry would be tired from his detention before going on a potentially life threatening mission. If there was something capable of harming _unicorns_ prowling around in the Forbidden Forest, then it would have little problems with a first year student not even a full week into the first semester.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Susan asked Harry, "So what was that about?"

Harry sighed and said, "I'm serving two detentions on Friday now, one with Snape and another with Hagrid. And they're back to back. I'm going to be dead on my feet on Saturday." Susan nodded sympathetically and rubbed his arm in an effort to console him, but his mind seemed to be in a different place. Giving up in mild frustration, Susan tried to reassure him.

"At least we get our first flying lessons on Saturday," she said with a grin. She was trying to show off her perfectly straight, white teeth. He smiled back, but it was a wistful, faraway smile. He was likely thinking about Quidditch rather than her, like all other guys. Feeling somewhat put out that her attempts to flirt were going horribly, she laid her head on his shoulder. That got his attention.

"You seem awfully happy today," he said aloud. She smiled again, this time leaning even closer to him. Something about him made her feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. And she knew other girls felt the same way, because they looked at him the same way she did. Even the older girls would look at him with a dazed expression and slight drool. If Susan didn't know any better, she'd say he was a V-

But the arrival of Cho Chang and Daphne Greengrass ruined her train of thought. She, like all other girls in the immediate area, was instantly jealous of the Asian and blonde beauties. They got to hang out with Harry whenever they wanted, and he went out of his way to greet them. There were even rumors that he'd been seen kissing Cho once or twice, though those weren't fully proven. The first words out of Cho's mouth brought a flash of heat to Susan's face. "Hello, Love Monkey." Nearby she heard the Weasley Twins making whipped noises, and the trio all laughed good naturedly at the joke.

Susan was starting to feel a little left out, despite them only being there for a few seconds until Harry said, "So anyways, this is Susan. Susan, this is Cho and Daphne. You guys are, like, my best friends so far. I'd also like to include Hermione, but she's a little too competitive at the moment..." Which was true. Anybody who paid attention during class with first year Gryffindors knew that Hermione was only satisfied when she beat Harry as the first one to get a spell right or have finished an assignment. It would one day be a legendary feud, if he didn't put a stop to it soon.

Just as he said that, the morning post came in. He got two letters, one from Ragnok and the other from Fudge. "Well, might as well get started," he said under his breath. He opened the letter from Ragnok first.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_This Saturday, the negotiations with Mr. Patil for his daughter's hand in marriage will be taking place at Gringotts at 7:00pm sharp. I trust you can either sneak out of the castle or get permission to leave?_

_No updates on horcruxes, Hallows, Mr. Black, or your many Vaults._

_Sincerely,_

_Ragnok, King of the Goblins and President of Gringotts._

_P.S. I see you chose to disregard my advice regarding the use of your house elf as a courier. A lesser goblin would take offense to such a blatant insult to them, but I'm used to wizards being fairly intolerable in such regards. This is the last time you will do so, however. Otherwise, you will lose my support._

"Shit," said Harry. He was so tired last night and preoccupied with his planning that he completely forgot about that. The girls all looked at him, and he just shrugged. Then he opened up the second letter, hoping that his plan was going smoothly for once.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I must say that I was quite surprised when you contacted me. I would never have guessed that the Boy-Who-Lived would have an interest in politics as a career choice, or that he'd choose me as his mentor! Of course, I am the Minister of Magic, but it is still an honor. I can't wait until the summer time, when you'll begin your internship at the Ministry of Magic as my assistant._

_Sincerely,_

_Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic._

After he finished reading, he smiled and put both letters in his pocket. He'd already been awake for several hours, and yet he still had classes to deal with. Quickly standing up, he leaned forward and kissed Cho lightly on the lips before saying, "I've got to go. I'll talk to you at lunch, okay?" All three girls nodded happily and he left. Professor Flitwick watched him leave with interest, but he wasn't the only one. McGonagall, Snape, Dumbledore, and Quirrel all watched him like hawks, wondering what he'd do next.

His trip to the first class of the day, History of Magic, was uneventful. And due to the lack of sleep he had from the night before, he promptly took a nap once the roll call was over and Professor Binns began to immediately drone on about the Goblin Rebellions of centuries past in his monotonous ghost voice. Harry's sleep was still riddled with blurry images and sounds. He did have a brief moment of clarity though, just like all the other dreams.

_Harry was standing in a Japanese compound, stealthily reading ancient scrolls for information. "The inner magical core suppresses the majority of magical energy in subspace, a personal dimensional pocket. The outer core is used to capture excess power and release it harmlessly from the body. All magic uses energy skimmed from the outer magical core before it is released. This means that wizards have weaker but more adaptive cores than their nonmagical counterparts..."_

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**A/N: I've noticed a disturbing lack of good Harry/Fleur Timetravel fics. Somebody out there, hear my plea: write this story!**

**Or maybe I should? I've been thinking of having this take place fourth year instead of first, and I'm not so far into the plot that it won't be too hard to change a few things. I'm going to put up a poll...**


	11. Oaths of Alliance

**A/N: Apologies, but I basically re-edited the useless prologue out of the beginning and moved them to different places. If you've been reading this story for a long time, you can skip the dream in this story. However, you may want to reread it because there are changes here and there. Also, I'm going to be starting a second version of this story with Senior showing right before Fourth year, not First. There will be many chapters exactly the same at the beginning, but then it will completely diverge.**

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His trip to the first class of the day, History of Magic, was uneventful. And due to the lack of sleep he had from the night before, he promptly took a nap once the roll call was over and Professor Binns began to immediately drone on about the Goblin Rebellions of centuries past in his monotonous ghost voice. Harry's sleep was still riddled with blurry images and sounds. He did have a brief moment of clarity though, just like all the other dreams. It showed Senior reading ancient scrolls in an obviously Japanese ruin.

But then, the dream started to shift away from whatever Senior's activities in his previous life were, to something far stranger. Something far stranger indeed. The piece of Tom Riddle's soul embedded in him had created a connection of sorts with the Dark Lord, most likely because the mind is the intermediary point between the body and soul, that which connects the two and controls them. A connection between their souls gave a slight insight into the Dark Lord's mind when he wasn't blocking the thoughts. But Voldemort's thoughts were of a memory, a flashback of that fateful night...

_The house on the shore was reflected beautifully across the rippling water of the nearby lake. The luxurious building was nearly as bright as the full moon floating in the sky, and was extremely well kempt. Voldemort stared at his prey's last bastion with a speculative expression across his serpentine face. His red eyes scanned the yard, detecting every magical barrier, alarm, and trap that was cast on the property. His magesight was getting stronger, capable of seeing the latent offensive wards and manifested defensive wards. The sounds of crickets, frogs, and owls created a cacophony of noise around him._

_The fact that he could see it was pretty important in and of itself. The inhabitants thought they were protected from his wrath by the Fidelius Charm, but they were sorely mistaken. They made an idiotic mistake; they trusted the wrong person to be their secret keeper... again. Thinking of the horror on their faces as he cut another swath through their family filled him with intense pleasure as he began moving towards the safe house._

_The Potter child perfectly fit the description in the prophesy: he was born towards the end of July and his parents had defied Voldemort three times. After he was finished with Harry Potter, nobody would stand a chance at defeating the Dark Lord._

_The snake-like man scowled as he thought about his previous attempt to annihilate the family. They were hidden by the Fidelius Charm but entrusted their secret to their friend Peter Pettigrew, a mole in Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. When the Dark Lord arrived, the father James dueled excellently until he fell, giving his wife and newborn son the chance to escape. Of course the Order then knew Pettigrew was a double agent, so he lost a valuable asset that night._

_He captured the Prewitt brothers, Gideon and Fabian. He used legilimency on the fraternal twins to discover which of the many Potter residences that the mudblood and her doomed child were hiding. The brothers didn't know because it was a secret even amongst the inner circle of the Order, but they did know that it too was protected by the Fidelius Charm and that the secret keepers of this location were Frank and Alice Longbottom, whose child strangely fit the description of the prophesy as well._

_When he 'paid them a visit' they weren't cooperating very well, so he began to use the Cruciatus Curse on them. He tortured them for hours with the unforgivable curse as their son, Neville, watched in horror. They finally gave him the information that he wanted and he left the two insane Aurors and gave their son to the werewolf Fenrir Greyback. The man really loved turning children…_

_And now, here he was, at a small house on the shore of Lake Windermere, the largest lake in the United Kingdom. He grinned as he contemplated getting revenge for the loss of precious time he could've been creating horcruxes and searching for ways to gain or create a philosopher's stone. He twirled his wand of yew absently as he began approaching the formidable property._

_He moved across the yard in a random path and waved his wand arbitrarily while he chanted a long chain of separate incantations. He wanted to remove all the security measures before he entered the house. If he set off an alarm, he wouldn't be able to have as much prolonged fun as he intended. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement would immediately begin sending reinforcements to the house, and they would bombard him with curses, jinxes, and hexes. It would be a close match; him versus several hundred highly trained officers of the law._

_With a satisfied grin, he finished removing all the enchantments on the yard and approached the front door. He thought about sarcastically knocking on the door, but he enjoyed the element of surprise. He pushed the door open slightly and its hinges began to loudly groan with protest. Cringing, he stopped moving and listened hard as the noise reverberated through the magnificent home. Casting a silencing charm on the door, he could have easily slapped himself at his potentially costly mistake. What if he lost the element of surprise? Then it wouldn't be as fun to commit senseless murder._

_He cautiously entered the abode and heard the creaking of a mattress above him as somebody rolled over in their bed. Smiling evilly, he aimed his wand at the spot on the ceiling and muttered something. A beam of bright, white light erupted from the tip of his wand. It sheared through the plaster ceiling, hardwood floor, and mattress above him as easily as if they weren't even there to begin with. He heard a cry of surprise and pain escape the master bedroom as he studied his handiwork. Blood began dripping down the hole in the ceiling, only a few drops, and some feathers were floating down to him._

_Voldemort glided up the carpeted staircase to the second floor and moved towards the master bedroom as if taking a pleasant stroll through a beautiful meadow. He roughly pushed open the door and examined the scene from his new position. Feathers from the ripped open mattress were still floating in the cozy warm air. A body was lying on the bed and blood was on the ceiling, along with what appeared to be several organs. He sighed with delight as he imagined what the expression would be on whomever's face discovered this mess._

_He walked over to the body and stared at it with a giddy sense of pride at his accomplishment. The young woman had a hole clean through her stomach and her internal organs were beginning to leak out of her chest cavity. Lily Potter deserved this and far more for what she's done to him. A small pool of blood was forming nearby, the copper scent making Voldemort relish in the act. He loved blood, it's color, it's consistency…_

_Unfortunately for her, she wasn't quite dead yet. Her body was curled into the fetal position, trembling with pain. He would almost have felt pity for her, if she hadn't ruined his plans. He smiled happily at her as she stared with hatred on her face. How proud these Gryffindors can be! He reached for her and began poking and prodding her insides with his slender hands, evoking delicious screams of absolute pain from her._

_He licked his lips and leaned closer to her, stopping only inches from her. She began to hyperventilate as her lungs slowly slid out of her disfigured body. He leaned back and chuckled coldly, knowing the greatest way to torture this woman. He forced his lips on hers and felt her nearly gagging from hatred. He pulled back and started chuckling at the vehement look on her slowly dying face. That was as far as he was willing to go with a Mudblood, even if he was a Halfblood himself. The color began to fade from her as he watched, the life draining away._

_After he finished scrutinizing the damage, he quickly left the bedroom. He took one last look at the wreck surrounding him, tilted his head back, and began to chuckle. Sometimes being a psychopath could be so… euphoric._

_Moving lithely to another room, he swiftly wrenched open the door. Shock appeared on his face for a fraction of a second as he finally took in what he saw. In the crib of the nursery was something he wasn't expecting; a blond? As far as he knew, nobody on either side of the family had light hair. He shrugged indifferently, pointing his wand at the child. About to cast the Killing Curse, he heard a dragging sound moving towards him from the master bedroom._

_In astonishment, he turned and saw Lily dragging her mostly limp body across the ground towards him. In the brighter hallway, he saw she had fragments of wood and plaster embedded in her skin. She looked at him with pleading eyes, "P-please… not… not my baby…" then her arm snapped up, wand in hand, and she screamed, "Avada Kedavra!" at Voldemort. He dodged it easily and watched with satisfaction as her head dropped to the floor with a sense of finality. She used the last bit of her magic to avenge her husband and protect her child. Futile though it was, Voldemort whistled at her strength._

_Gryffindors would be great soldiers, if only they weren't entirely against him._

_He turned his back to the finally dead woman and pointed it at the child who continued to quietly stare at him in confusion, as if he didn't know quite what to make of Voldemort. The Dark Lord's eyes widened as he saw the hair change from blond to brown. Was this child a metamorphmagus? Uneasiness spread through the wizard's stomach as he looked at the child. He hadn't heard the entire prophesy… what if the child was supposed to join him? It would be pretty useful to have a shapeshifter amongst his ranks, but did he really need one? No, and what if the child was destined to oppose him?_

_"Fuck the consequences," said the evil man. Laughing, he cast the killing curse at the infant. But as soon as the jet of bright green light shot out of his wand, he felt something deep down. Was it regret? No. Was it remorse? Hell no. Was it guilt? No, and questioning his own actions was pointless! He frowned in the fraction of a second after he cast the spell. Something strange and terribly against the laws of nature was happening before Voldemort's eyes. The curse rebounded off the child and flew back into Voldemort, severing his soul from his body._

_Swirling blackness surrounded him as he wondered idly where he would go next. The Locket, the Chalice, the Diary, the Diedem, the Ring or the Snake? Then his safety nets caught him as he was already formulating another plan to become invincible. Except this time, he wouldn't underestimate the incredibly powerful child that ended him. Maybe he could turn the child to his faction in a few years?_

Harry woke up shivering. Luckily only Hermione noticed his discomfort since she was sitting next to him. "Are you okay?" she whispered cautiously. Of course he wasn't. He was pale, cold, and starting to feel a little sick to his stomach. He needed to work on Occlumency soon, but who would be able to help him? Maybe if he could get Hermione to learn it with him...

But that wasn't how things originally happened, was it? Hadn't Voldemort caught up with the Potter's in Godric's Hollow and finished them there in the previous timeline? Did this mean that the events of that night happened differently than Senior thought they had, did Senior lie to him about how that night transpired, or was this a mutation in the timeline? A mutation, a variation in the fabric of existence, could have everlasting repercussions and completely change his plan.

But this uncertainty raised many questions about the timeline itself. Harry knew for a fact that there was no way either his actions or Senior's could have affected this, and Neville certainly wasn't a werewolf in the original timeline. So it was more than simply falling out of causality and rewriting reality as they saw fit. They were in an alternate world where the events of that night happened slightly differently. But was Neville a true werewolf? Or was he a strange hybrid like Bill was? It all depended on whether the moon was full that night or not, but regardless he would be a good addition to the Inner Circle. Neville, Draco, Fred, George, Hermione, Daphne, Cho, Susan... They were all either powerful politically, economically, socially, or magically. And they would all join his crusade of ending Dumbledore and Voldemort or everything he worked so hard to set up would fall apart.

He nodded a little too quickly and said, "Yeah. How much time's left before class is over anyways?" He could tell that she could easily see his discomfort, and he was eternally grateful that she didn't decide to pursue the subject further. The concern in her eyes never fully disappeared, but it was lessened with a slight twinge of mirth at his question.

"Only about ten minutes," she said evenly. There was a collective sigh of relief from all of the people around them that were eavesdropping on the conversation. Harry rolled his eyes at their dramatic antics, but didn't comment beyond that. Hermione giggled at his reaction, as did Lavender, Parvatti, Padma, Susan, and Hannah. All of the boys looked annoyed, teetering on mutinous, but Seamus looked ready to kill him.

He smiled and said, "Good, I can't wait to get out of here." This was said as he stared intently at the Irish boy, who quickly got the hint that Harry was perfectly fine with beating him into next week again, and laid his head down. The fact that the boy backed off of his own accord and signified Harry's dominance over the malcontent rival was noted by everyone present.

She smirked and said, "Really? I hadn't noticed..." but she trailed off when she saw Harry switch his gaze from Seamus and begin staring unabashedly at a rather perturbed Neville Longbottom. She was about to ask him what he was doing when he answered her unasked question for her.

"Neville, I haven't yet had the pleasure of talking to you. I hear that we have the same birthday?" said Harry. She could tell that there was an ulterior motive to his question, almost as if this was the most important thing he could ever be asking of anyone.

Neville looked decidedly uncomfortable and said, "Yeah. July 31st, right?"

Harry nodded and said, "And your first Halloween was just as awful as mine?" Hermione gasped at the question. How could anybody's Halloween have been as bad as Harry's first? Yet again, before she could ask her question, Neville nodded with fear and sadness heavily evident in the pudgy boy's brown eyes.

"Yes. You-Know-Who tortured my parents into insanity for information on where your parents were." He got a look of hatred on his face as he looked at Harry. "If it weren't for your parents naming mine as their Secret Keeper, my parents would still have their sanity and I wouldn't be..." He didn't want to finish that sentence and tell everyone that he was a pseudo-werewolf, but Harry already knew. "I hate your parents for what they did! But since they're dead, my anger has to be directed at something close to them: you!"

Everyone was watching warily as Harry and Neville's argument began gaining volume. Harry sighed and said, "I truly am sorry for what my parents did, whether they knew the consequences of their actions or not. But you also have to take their context into account as well. Both families were protected by the Fidelius Charm, and their Secret Keeper was the same traitorous rat." The fact that Harry had forgiven and planned on exploiting this rat's guilt was inconsequential to the current discussion, so he left that out. "Nobody suspected him to outright betray our parents, and yet he did. If you should hate anyone, you should hate him... and the one that created him."

There was disquiet in the room, but that was promptly destroyed by the bell which signaled time for lunch to begin. As everyone was leaving, Harry continued in a quiet voice, "Neville, I'd like to discuss this further with you at a later date without a crowd of witnesses paying close attention to us. Learn Occlumency, and I'll tell you why it all happened..." The Scion of House Longbottom nodded sharply and left Harry alone in the room with Hermione and Susan. Harry sighed, offered his arms, and said, "Well, we best be off."

They quickly snaked their arms around his, and the trio of first year Gryffindors began their trek to the Great Hall. Within moments, they were sitting next to Cho and Daphne at the Ravenclaw table, and attracting many strange looks from people around the room. While there was no rule against sitting with the other Houses, nobody did it other than Harry and his motley crew. Almost immediately, Cho began, "So Harry, I've been thinking about the whole polygamy thing."

All other girls in the vicinity had their ears perk up, almost as if they were dogs. By now, everyone knew that Harry and Cho were magically and legally bound to each other in matrimony. They also knew that Harry was the Head of multiple noble houses and had to sire heirs from different women for each house. However, the first wife has the ability to veto any other potential spouses he might try to take, so she was just as important in the decision making process as Harry himself. If she so chose, she could force him to only have children with her.

And due to Britain's promogenitive inheritance laws, their first born male child would inherit all of the wealth that each noble house has acquired over the years. However, the ancient names would be forever lost and their respective votes in the Wizengammot would be redistributed to families that could be outside Harry and Cho's influence. If the couple wanted to keep the political power of the noble families to themselves, they'd need to let Harry have multiple wives. Which is why, though archaic and rather shallow on their part, all females were listening carefully.

Harry had to fight hard to keep the laughter out of his voice as he replied, "And?"

She smirked and said, "I will allow it." There were relieved sighs all around them. Harry was beginning to wonder if the people in the school were melodramatic about everything, or they were just too caught up in his celebrity to control their automatic reactions. "In fact, you might as well start getting used to dividing your attention among us. Because of Daphne's contract, it would be counter productive to 'practice' with her, but you're free with Susan and Hermione. Maybe even somebody else?" The Weasley twins, while appearing taken aback by her words, looked incredibly expectant. Their comeback was imminent...

The blonde, redhead, and brunette all blushed furiously at the Asian girl's words, but Harry just chuckled. "Are you proposing an open relationship?" he asked casually. Many people around them had completely given up trying to hide their eavesdropping and were now openly staring in awe at the couple. Yes they were just first years, but they were the greatest gossip material in ages.

Cho laughed and said, "I will always be with you and only you, because nobody else interests me in such ways. But you are a guy with certain needs that I likely won't be able to satisfy by myself. Therefore, go sew your wild oats or whatever. Just as long as, at the end of the day, you come back to me." At that moment, people started eating custard and people were exploding into feathers all over the room. The Weasley twins were openly laughing at everyone, but nobody would ever be able to prove that they had anything to do with it. Who'd even heard of Canary Custards, let alone knew that they could produce them?

Harry smiled and inclined his head to them, saying, "Touche." Their eyes widened as they realized that, with a single word, Harry had just admitted to them that he was the one behind the weed brownies. Though they should have seen it coming since he was the son of Prongs and had the Marauder's Map in his possession on that day, neither really put two and two together until that moment.

Once their shock subsided, they grinned and said, "Thanks Harry. We'd like to talk to you soon, preferably before the next class." At that, they got up and left. Harry shrugged to Susan, Daphne, and Hermione when they asked what this was all about, but he caught Cho's eye and smirked. She returned his sentiments and distracted the other three as he went after his newest recruits. Within moments they were alone in a hallway together, and Twin B said, "So, are you trying to start something with us?"

He smiled and nodded, saying, "I'm thinking about reforming the Marauders with you two and Peeves. This is a... Beta stage, if you will. Think about the insanity that all four of us could cause together? I'll let you think about it, but first I need to come up with a proper retaliation to your Canary Custards." Their eyes widened when he named their invention despite them not having told anyone about it. Before they could ask how he knew that, he turned and walked off to Defense Against the Dark Arts with Quirrel. If Senior's advice about this year was anything to go by, Harry could likely use this class to catch up on homework, his extracurricular studying, or sleep.

He sat in the classroom all alone, with only Quirrel as company. There was an awkwardness between them, but the tension was soon dispersed once the other people started pouring into the class. First year Gryffindors and Slytherins had DADA together on Wednesdays in between lunch and dinner. Soon everyone was seated and Quirrel began to call roll. Harry noticed an acute lack of a stutter. In fact, the man seemed incredibly confident.

"I am Professor Quirrel, your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. This class is about surviving if you ever find yourself off the beaten path. We will be learning quite a bit despite you only being first years. Because of the fact that there hasn't been anyone capable of keeping the teaching position for the past thirty years or so, I'm going to basically be giving you an advanced course. This is so that you can survive the idiots that will inevitably follow me. Now, who can tell me the most important rule of defense?"

Nobody looked forthcoming, so Harry raised his hand. Quirrel pointed at him so he said, "Constant vigilance?"

Quirrel snorted and said, "I take it you've met Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody?" Harry nodded and he said, "Constant vigilance is important, but not the key. Improvisation is. You need to identify the danger, adapt the situation, overcome the circumstances. Now, who can tell me about the Fight of Flight reflex?"

Hermione raised her hand and said, "The Fight or Flight reflex is a defense mechanism initiated when external or internal stimuli create stress, allowing the body to release adrenaline to improve the chances of survival."

Quirrel appraised her and said, "Correct. Now, this reflex is mostly brought on by fear. While it is helpful for a fistfight, it hinders the ability to accurately cast spells. Can anyone tell me why?"

Once again, Hermione's hand shot into the air. Malfoy coughed, but the words 'Know-It-All' floated around the room. Her hand started descending, but Harry gave her a look and her confidence returned. With determination, she said, "Magic reacts to our feelings, moods, thoughts, emotions, sensations, etc. Fear would likely interfere with spell casting and dilute the potency of the magic contained in the spell, resulting in a weaker effect."

The Professor was now scrutinizing her and said, "That is correct, though I don't remember seeing it in the assigned reading. And you don't have a magical background considering that you're muggleborn. So tell me, how did you come up with the correct answer?" He was simply curious, not being nasty in any way.

Hermione blushed and said, "Well, I know magic reacts to us because of the assigned reading in Charms class, and I know that fear can weaken mental resolve. I just kind of took an educated guess from there and arrived at a logical conclusion."

He nodded and said, "And that is the kind of thinking that is woefully missing from the pureblood elitists. Logic and reasoning are the foundation of muggle society, their curiosity driving them to create new technology and slowly unravel the wonders of the universe. Because of our usage of magic, we don't care about how something works or why it does, only that it is. This is why I find muggleborns to be so refreshing. They have an alternative perspective on things." By the end of his small tirade, he was staring at Malfoy, almost as if wishing that the blond aristocrat would reply.

When he didn't, Quirrel continued, "This year, we'll be going over several different styles of defense: against magical creatures, against fellow wizards, dueling or fighting, etc. I will be sponsoring a Dueling Club that will hold practice sessions once a week and school-wide tournaments before Winter and Summer breaks respectively. The winners will receive special awards, though they're surprises so I won't tell you what they are."

Many people chattered excitedly, but Quirrel continued, "To compete, you must have a passing grade in all of your classes. This gives you an incentive to actually work hard in school." Harry groaned loudly, having planned on barely skirting by until the OWLs since nothing else really mattered until then. Sure he would show that he could get the spells down quickly, but he wasn't going to really do his homework very much... He saw Quirrel's lip twitch upwards, and he noticed everyone looking at him.

He sighed and apologized, allowing the class to continue in much the same fashion that it was. He just couldn't wait until tomorrow night, when he could begin his lessons in metamorphmagus powers with Tonks. Come to think of it, she'd be a good member of his Inner Circle as well... Harry was brought out of his thoughts by the bell, signifying that class was over and that dinner was soon. As he made his way to the Great Hall with Padma and Susan on his arms, Draco called out, "Hey Potter, I'd like to talk to you for a second."

Harry and his group turned around, and Malfoy continued, "Alone." The redhead and Indian girl both looked at him, asking his permission to either go or stay. He gave them a small smile and nodded his head, letting them leave. "Alright, Potter. I've contemplated your terms and have come up with a counter argument. Since you already have the ability to get out of any trouble that you want, though why you don't get out of Snape and Hagrid's detentions I'll never know, I've got a better idea. Allow me to invite you to pureblood holiday parties as my guest. There, you can mingle and begin growing your power base with the conservatives. They hold most of the power at the moment anyway, so you should try to gain their support in your future endeavors. They could be a tremendous help."

More ideas began swirling through his head. Daphne's marriage contract, Peter Pettigrew's fake testimony, pureblood Christmas parties... a plan was already forming in his devious little mind. Harry smirked and said, "That would be agreeable. And what is it that you want in return?"

Draco almost laughed and said, "In return, bring me into your fold. I can see what you're doing, just like everyone else in Slytherin can. You're creating an Inner Circle of your own with the most talented or connected witches and wizards in our generation. Susan Bones, Daphne Greengrass, and Hannah Abbot are the heiresses of three Most Ancient and Noble Families, and Neville Longbottom is a heir. They all have the special abilities associated with their noble houses too, which makes them some of the most powerful and versatile people in the school." Harry just raised his eyebrow.

Draco continued, "Cho Chang and Padma Patil are both the heiresses of large criminal empires with contacts in countries with two of the largest populations in the world and supposed connections with the mythical Goblin Triad. Hermione Granger appears to be a magical genius that could one day rival Dumbledore, and the Weasley twins are almost as powerful. Just add me, and you'll have five Most Ancient and Noble Houses under your banner. With our help, you could rule the Wizengammot, and through them the Ministry."

"But Draco, why do you want to join? What do you wish to gain?" asked Harry.

Draco sighed and said, "Power. With our help, you could appoint your own Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, Headmaster, Minister, etc. Once this is all done and over, I wish to have a position of power."

Harry thought it over and said, "Alright. Let's make a magical oath." He pulled out his wand, just as Malfoy did. "I, Harry Potter, do solemnly swear on my magic to bring Draco Malfoy to a position of considerable administrative power after my plans are finished."

Malfoy nodded and said, "I, Draco Malfoy, do solemnly swear by my magic to aid Harry Potter economically, socially, and politically in completing his plans."

Then they both said, at the same time, "So mote it be!" There was a flash of white light, but it was soon gone and they were both left panting.

"So Draco," began Harry in between pants, "Do you know Occlumency?"


	12. Lessons With Tonks

**A/N: Parts of this were inspired by 'Rise of Arcane' by Angeldoctor. Oh, and there's aspects of Fate/Stay Night and Fairy Tail in this chapter.**

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Thursday morning, Harry woke up in much the same way he had been. He noticed Seamus was a lot quieter, though Neville seemed to be intrigued with him. Deciding to leave earlier than usual and give a heads up to his pet rat, Harry jogged to the Room of Requirement before getting breakfast. Within seconds, the door formed and he entered. "Hey Wormtail," said Harry. Peter looked up at him and seemed rather pale. "What is it?" asked Harry in concern. Was one of his newest recruits getting cold feet? Or was something scaring him that Harry didn't take into account?

There was an audible stomach growl coming from his future spy. "Well, this room provides everything except for food, and I've been in here for almost a full day..." replied Peter. If this were a cartoon, he'd likely have had a gargantuan drop of sweat rolling down the back of his head in exasperated wonder, especially when taking into account the runaway train of thoughts that he had prior to Pettigrew's answer.

Harry instantly felt guilty, "Oh crap! I forgot about Gamp's Five Exceptions to the Laws of Transfiguration actually applying to this room. And you were bound by magic to not leave until I could edit your memories..." He really felt like an asshole for such an oversight. "Here, I'll get you some food. Derpy!" His house elf appeared, looking overjoyed to be called by her master. Maybe he should give her more random chores to do...

"Is there anything that Master requires?" she asked excitedly, as if she were a drug addict that was given the key to a hospital's supply room. A very, very large supply room.

He smiled and said, "Yes. Whenever my guest, Peter Pettigrew wants food, you are to get it for him for now on." She seemed to shimmer in happiness before disappearing with a poof. In seconds, she returned with a five course meal. Peter immediately began tearing into the food, not caring about manners because he needed to relieve the dull ache of his stomach. The guilt was back really hard, but he didn't let it bother him too much. It was an honest mistake.

"Sorry about that," said Harry. "By the way, I originally came here to warn you that I'm going to be taking lessons from Nymphadora Tonks in this room on controlling my metamorphmagus powers. When that happens, I'd prefer you to hide somewhere. There would be too many questions if she saw you, plus she's old enough that she could potentially recognize you if she's seen you before. She was six when you were forced to betray my parents..."

Peter nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'll hide. I'm curious, will you be boinking her too?" The indifference and lack of vocal inflection when he asked that question made it seem as if he were simply asking for the weather, rather than the plans of Harry's future sexual exploits. And the fact that he asked it with half a chicken leg being munched in his open mouth made the question feel, though improbable, even dirtier than the question would have on its own.

Harry blanched, "What? She's like seventeen! And she's my cousin!" Though he secretly did wonder if it would be okay to at least sample... NO, he couldn't be doing such strange things! That was a quick and easy way to becoming a hypocrite, especially when taking his early admonishment of Draco's beliefs into consideration. And if Peter gave any inclination to show that he was sorry for his blase questioning, Harry missed it in his disquiet.

Peter shrugged and said, "DNA doesn't matter to a metamorphmagus. Your genetic code is so unstable that you wouldn't produce disfigured children. It would be no different than getting that Chinese girl that you're promised to pregnant." That sounded like music to his ears, other than the slight to Cho. She was a far more integral part of his plan than Peter himself would ever be. Besides, Harry loved her and was willing to spend the rest of his life with her. Anybody who attacked her honor would also be personally insulting him, and he'd deal with them in a fashion similar with how he dealt with Seamus.

"That Chinese girl's name is Cho," snapped Harry. Maybe the traitorous rat didn't realize exactly what it was that he implied, or maybe he didn't expect Harry to actually care about the Asian beauty. But either way, Harry would never tolerate anyone badmouthing Cho. Or any of the other girls that were starting to worm their ways into his heart. Realizing that he snapped at Peter, whose behavior was likely being affected by a lack of food, Harry continued in a less frightening voice, "Sorry for that outburst. But that's actually pretty interesting, about the whole unstable DNA thing. It wouldn't be weird or anything to seek a relationship with her, would it?"

Peter snorted and said, "Wizarding nobility is mostly inbred because of blood purity beliefs. Nobody would care even if you weren't genetically compatible, but you are so there's really no point in worrying about it. Besides, wouldn't you like a girl that could change into whatever you wanted?" Wormtail never appeared to be this foreward before, but maybe it was because he knew Harry wasn't likely to torture and kill him for any annoyance. Plus, that last point certainly had merit and began taking control over his imagination.

Harry looked slightly annoyed since he couldn't control the images of Tonks being and doing whatever he wanted, and all but shouted, "Peter, I'm way too young to be thinking about things like that! Plus, I've still got plots to plan and schemes to whip up. So if you don't mind, get your head out of the gutter. I'll be back in a few hours with Tonks. Bye!"

And with that, Harry left the Room of Requirement to begin his day. He made it to the Great Hall, and the trip was relatively uneventful, or at least as close to uneventful as any trips through the constantly changing layout of Hogwarts could be, until he reached the doors leading to the dining room. Malfoy quickly grabbed him and led him into a nearby abandoned classroom, obviously so they wouldn't be overheard by unsavory individuals. "What's up Malfoy?" he asked curiously.

Draco quickly replied, "My father just told me that he's done something that I think you'd like to know." Harry raised an eyebrow and Draco continued, "He apparently gave an enchanted diary away to someone at this school that would cause terrible things to happen. He didn't say what those things were, or even who it was, but he did say that I should stay away from muggleborns and blood traitors this year."

Harry's eyes narrowed. What could make Malfoy Senior get rid of Tom Riddle's diary a year earlier? Getting to the Chamber shouldn't be a problem since Senior told him where it was before he passed on, but he needed the diary. The more horcruxes he collected, the sooner he could get the soul fragment out of himself at Gringotts. The Purification Ritual required that all submissive soul fragments should be congregated, and that's what he was going to do. He was getting tired of the strange dreams that Voldemort kept sending his way, and he'd be making them stop as soon as possible.

He'd need to locate the diary soon, but who could possibly have it? Ginny wasn't here, so it obviously wasn't her. Why did Lucius give her the diary in the first place? He was trying to pass the Muggle Registration Act and wanted to discredit the majority of his opposition, Arthur Weasley, by making his daughter appear to be a blood purist terrorist. But that law wasn't even in place yet, so who could it be? Feeling a headache coming on, Harry nodded and said, "Alright, thanks for telling me this. By the way, there's something I want you to do on Saturday..."

A few minutes later, Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table in between Hermione and Susan, across from Cho, Daphne, and Padma. "So Padma, negotiations are on Saturday," he said with nonchalance. Harry was actually rather nervous about talking to her father about the terms of their marriage. Anything to appease the Goblin Triad...

She smiled nervously and said, "Yeah. Hopefully Father doesn't demand anything too crazy. Though knowing him..." They hadn't really talked all that much about the marriage, though he did mention to her that he was planning on taking her hand in marriage. To say she was surprised was an understatement. She was initially outraged with him and his actions, only consoled once he explained that he needed to marry her to keep the Triad off his back so that he could marry Cho. Besides, her father was likely to marry her off anyway. She might as well be married to a guy that she knew would treat her right as opposed to some of the Sheiks.

He smiled reassuringly and said, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'll do almost anything so that this can go through." Because as soon as the contract with Padma is signed and the marriage with Cho will be back on it's tracks, Mr. Chang will resume the investigation into Sirius Black's case. And Mr. Patil may even decide to help things along. He needed the men's help if he wanted to exonerate his dogfather. Besides, Padma was, like most girls with access to magical cosmetic supplies, incredibly beautiful.

Padma smiled, and Cho decided to add, "I've come up with a way to get Daphne away from that Lestrange boy." Everyone turned their attention to her, and she just stared straight into Harry's eyes. "Me and Daphne were talking, and she _really_ doesn't want to marry Jeremiah. So much so that she's willing to... well..." Harry didn't like the way she was talking, or rather, how she was trailing off uncomfortably, as if she wasn't quite sure how to articulate her thoughts without making everyone uncomfortable.

Daphne continued, "I'm willing to make myself your slave, thus cutting all ties to the Greengrass family." For some reason, when she said slave, he got the image of her being his _slave_. His damned puberty was starting to hit, almost as if being around magic was making him age faster, and he was noticing some incredibly powerful feelings from him about the opposite sex. Images of possible scenarios, thoughts of pleasurable sins, and even dirty commentary were beginning to sprout forth from his mind even easier than his plans.

Harry scowled at both what they were offering, and what his body was changing into, and said, "No, I've already got a plan in place to get you out of marrying Jeremiah Lestrange while letting you keep the political backing of your family. It will take a while, but trust me its worth it. We need the Greengrass family for the plan to work..." She frowned unhappily, and the atmosphere started growing with suspense. Harry looked around before getting exasperated, "I'm not going to tell you guys my full plan. Each of you has a part, and you will only know that part when I deem it necessary. I don't put all my eggs in one basket."

They looked unhappy with his proclamation, but they weren't going to argue. At that moment, the owl post came in. On the front cover of the Daily Prophet was the headline: 'Sirius Black spotted!' People were talking in excited whispers and he just sighed in exasperation. This was like his previous life's first three years of school all happening simultaneously. Well he knew for a fact he wasn't going anywhere near Aragog in the Forbidden Forest any time soon. His detention wasn't going anywhere near the giant man-eating spider.

He quickly kissed Cho, catching her momentarily by surprise by the swift suddenness of his kiss. Her eyes glazed over temporarily, then he did the same to Padma, who he'd never kissed before but felt that it was appropriate since they'd be getting married at some point if everything went according to plan. He quickly hugged Daphne, Hermione, and Susan goodbye before leaving for the first class of the day: Potions. He couldn't wait for the day to be over and his lesson with Tonks to begin. Maybe he could figure out what his feelings toward her were.  
_

After a day of Potions and Transfiguration, Harry found himself waiting in the abandoned seventh floor corridor for Tonks to show up. He hadn't been able to talk to her much since he asked her for lessons, considering they were in different Houses and grades, but he would remedy that tonight. Eventually she showed up, and she said, "Alright, I'm here. Now where are we going to be working?"

He smiled and, without verbally answering her question, made the door to the Room of Requirement appear on the wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy trying to teach trolls how to dance. Her mouth was in a comical 'O' once it was finished forming and he bowed while gesturing to the door, saying, "After you, milady."

She couldn't help but grin at him as she walked through the threshold into the Room of Requirement and she stopped in her tracks in awe. The enormous room was full of tomes, scrolls, books, couches, a fireplace, somehow a view of the grounds despite them being in the middle of the castle, targeting dummy's, and a dueling pit. "Wow," was the only thing she could manage to say.

He smiled and said, "That was my opinion too, when I first found it." There was an amused overtone that he couldn't keep out of his voice. She was just so damned cute when bewildered. He hoped to make her expression just as confused as it was now on multiple occasions in the future. It would certainly brighten his day.

At his words, she whipped around, "And how did you find this in your first week? I've been here for _years_ and never found anything like this!" Her hands were on her hips and she mock glared at him, almost as if he'd done something wrong. But her eye was twinkling again in barely suppressed amusement, and luckily Harry could tell that, while curious about his exploits, she wouldn't badger him about his adventures like a certain bushy haired first year friend of his.

He smiled innocently and said, "I just got lucky I suppose." Of course, she knew that was completely and utterly false but didn't feel like pointing it out. She likely assumed, correctly in Harry's humble opinion, that she wouldn't be able to get any information out of him by asking simple questions. Though he may leave a bread crumb or two for her to follow. She could be an incredibly helpful ally in the future, of that Harry was certain.

She grinned and said, "Lucky, right. Well, let's sit down on something comfy... like this couch." And without further ado, she plopped down on the cushion and rubbed the spot next to her suggestively. "Oh please, won't you join me?" she asked, mocking his earlier use of manners. He smiled and sat next to her, his heartbeat picking up slightly. Despite him trying not to feel anything, he was. He could've sworn he heard Peter snickering, but he supposed it was his imagination because Tonks didn't react to the sound.

He almost gulped and fought his hormonal reaction down as he said, "So... lessons?" He saw a small smirk flit across her face before it was quickly replaced with blank indifference. She knew exactly what effects she was having on him, and she seemed to be enjoying every minute of basking in the warm glow of his attention, even going so far as to slightly push her chest out and pout her lips. He didn't know if she was consciously trying to turn him on, or she was completely unaware of her own actions, but he did know that she _knew_ what he was thinking about her body.

Nodding, she said, "Well, the first thing you've got to know is that there are different ways that magic can end up in a living thing. For wizards, we have magical cores. These are metaphysical wellsprings of energy, existing in the other plane." She said all this with a mischievous twinkle constantly present in her eye as she slowly, surreptitiously drew herself closer to him. While she thought that her invasion of his private space was likely sneaky, most of his attention was on the close proximity of her perky breasts and firm ass, so he immediately noticed.

Harry interrupted, "The other plane?" He could feel his nether regions reacting to her presence, despite the fact that he could generally control himself around Cho, Susan, Hermione, Padma, Daphne... Something about Tonks was simply attractive to him, as if she were a Siren in the middle of her song and he was a helpless wanderer that slowly approached her, completely oblivious to any warnings that the logical part of his brain was likely trying to shove down his throat despite the futility of its actions.

She smiled her pixie-like and said, "You know how the individual is separated into the body, mind, and soul? Well the body resides in the terrestrial plane, the soul resides in the celestial plane, and the mind resides in the astral plane. It takes a lot of studying and meditating to be able to reach either the astral or celestial plane, but it is possible." Her heart shaped face and long, light blue hair was seemingly accented by the brilliant azure of her pupils. For some reason, whenever her hair was an obviously not natural color like blue, green, purple, or pink, Harry couldn't help but be entranced with it. Something about the neon fakeness of her hair attracted him to her like a moth to a flame, or more appropriately, a sheep to a wolf.

"Alright, but what does any of that have to do with metamorphmagi?" asked Harry curiously.

She gave him a roguish grin that filled his stomach with butterflies and made his chest feel warm as she said, "I was just answering your question about the other planes. You brought that random tangential explanation on all by yourself, Zappy." The familiarity with which she addressed him, likely a reference to the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, sent a small shiver of delight down his spine. It was the same feeling he got when Cho called him her 'Love Monkey' though it was simpler.

"Zappy?" he asked in feigned confusion. Really, he just wanted to hear her melodious voice talk some more before he had to concentrate on learning new concepts. She was now brushing against him as she gesticulated in accordance with her words, sending strange electric currents through his body. It felt simply _magical_ to him, as if she were the only girl in the world and, for some unknowable reason, she was flirting with him. Despite being nearly six years her junior, he could've sworn she was flirting with him.

She just pointed at the lightning shaped scar on his forehead, making him outwardly mock scowl but inwardly fist pump in excitement, and said, "Anyways, most mortal beings, be they magical or not, are biologically constrained to a singular plane that defines their reality. For us, its the terrestrial plane. However, through delving deep into the arcane, we can access the other plane." Even when talking about the fabric of existence and the origins of magic, she sounded incredibly sexy. Was she purposefully talking in a husky whisper and leaning closer to him, or was that simply for dramatic effect? Or was his imagination running wildly out the window?

"Sort of like magesight?" asked Harry inquisitively and somewhat sheepishly, considering the flattering thoughts he was having about the bodacious girl sitting next to him. Was it the fact that they were fellow metamorphmagi that he was receiving such attention from her, or something else? The connection that their similar magical abilities gave them made having a relationship tangibly easier to imagine than if they didn't, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was a different reason. If she was only doing this because he was famous, or she wanted to marry him someday down the line and become a noblewoman in one of the many houses that he was the lord of, she'd likely lose a lot of his respect. Of course he'd still be with her simply because she was hotter and more sultry than a fucking volcanoe, but he'd probably have second thoughts about her motives.

Tonks nodded and said, "Exactly like magesight, though that word would be relatively inaccurate. It would be more like a quantum leap in perception. After all, reality only exists to us in the way we perceive it. With magesight, we can unlock our abilities to recognize and acknowledge things beyond everyday phenomenon. All witches and wizards have a tiny ability in magesight due to their magical cores constantly connecting them with the other planes. This is what allows us to see things that muggles can't."

"So magic energy basically comes to our cores from those other planes?" asked Harry. He shook his head, wondering how he could be thinking such dirty thoughts about someone who was likely his cousin, despite them not sharing any genetic code. It was more the principle of the thing than the thing itself. I mean, what self respecting person actually admitted to wanting to do unspeakable sex acts to someone their related to? But then again, they weren't related, at least not in any way that counted. Besides, even if he was feeling these urges, she wasn't. Right?

Just as he thought that, she dramatically turned to emphasize his point and, whether by accident or design, brushed her breast against his forearm as she said, "Yes but not directly. Magical particles flow from the Divine realm to our own through Limbid Bridges connecting existence." Now his lower body was definitely reacting to her, and the lowest part of his spine was practically vibrating from the tingles that her action caused. His face, while he could usually fight down most blushes through sheer force of will, was starting to take on some pink tinges. He could've sworn she was smirking triumphantly at him, as if it was entirely on purpose. Maybe it was.

"What?" asked Harry, now completely confused. "What are these realms and bridges?" Harry idly thought about how skilled he must be at multitasking, to be able to continue a seamless dialogue through verbal conversation while trying to translate her body language into something that made sense and contemplating the morality of his attraction for her. Then there was also the fact that he was trying to, and quite probably failing miserably at, discreetly appreciating her busty figure and close proximity. Her scent of vanilla wasn't helping things.

"Well there are three realms: the Mortal, Immortal, and Divine realms. Do not mistake realms for planes. Imagine that the planes are layers of each realm, and that they overlap. We can exist in multiple planes of one realm, but can't be in multiple realms." As she said this, she left her lips pursed in thought, and he noticed just how smooth and silky her lips looked. Harry wondered if her lips would taste like the pink strawberry flavor that he imagined them to be, and went into a brief wet-daydream about making out with her but snapped out of it.

Realizing that she was, with mirth twinkling in her eyes, waiting for a coherent response from him, he said, "I still don't get it." He didn't want to come off as stupid in front of her, but this was truly important information. Of course, it was such an abstract concept that it was much easier to think about playing with her blue hair, but he had to at least try a little.

Tonks looked speculative, the cute expression on her face filling Harry with an acute desire to crash his lips into hers, before saying, "Think about it like this: if you were standing on the beach with one foot in dry sand and another in the water, you'd be in two places at once, in the ocean and on land. But you'd also be in the sky because the air is touching you, and you can still absorb sunshine from the sun to heat you up. Basically you're still on Earth despite touching ocean, land, and sky simultaneously. Yet you can't be on Earth and the Sun at the same time." That actually did help things, but the imagery made him think about _her_ at the beach wearing a skimpy bathing suit. Or maybe it was a nude beach-

Shaking his head to gut his mind out of the same gutter that Peter's was in that morning, Harry said, "Alright, I somewhat get it now. So where exactly does the magical energy come from?" He was glad that Tonks wasn't capable of using passive Legilimency on him, because his erratic thoughts and imagination were positively damning, if not distracting. Would she think him a pervert, or just incredibly susceptible to her pheromones? After all, metamorphmagi had unstable genetic code, meaning that they were perfectly compatible with anyone. That compatibility made their pheromones ultra-powerful, but when two metamorphmagi that were members of the opposite sexes made contact with each other...

"Well, magical energy is made up of magical particles called Eternano. These originate in the Divine realm and flow to the Mortal realm across Limbid Bridges and show up at Ley Lines. Our magical cores can capture the raw and volatile Eternano particles in the celestial plane to process them into more complex structures, called Prana, and transport them into the terrestrial plane to act as fuel for our spells and enchantments." said Tonks. And now she was staring with her beautiful, though artificial, bright blue eyes into his own emerald, as if searching for something within him. Wait, didn't Legilimency require eye contact?

A small wave of horror washed over Harry at the possibilities, so he turned his head to look out the artificial window at the castle grounds and said, "So basically the Eternano particles become Prana, which are what allow us to use magic and temporarily perceive separate planes of existence within our realm?" Hopefully that threw her off the trail, though the insanely loud beating of his heart would likely give him away if nothing else did.

She laughed and said, "Pretty much. You catch on quick. This is actually post-graduate level theory, but you're handling it rather well. Anyways, over time, some wizards began forming multilayered magical cores. Now most wizards and witches have only a single-layered magical core, but a small faction have dual-cores or even quad-cores. Having multiple cores gives more efficiency and effectiveness to the cultivation of Eternano and production of Prana, thus making a more powerful magic-user. That has nothing to do with metamorphmagi, its just a helpful anecdote."

Continuing, Tonks said, "But there is also the matter of how magic flows through the body. And this is what separates magic-users from muggles. There is a Prana circulatory system in our body; similar to arteries and veins filled with magical particles rather than blood cells. These are invisible to the naked eyes and called magical circuits. They're largely controlled subconsciously by the autonomous neurological system due to restraining fail-safes that are 'built in' to the circuits. Those fail-safes are why most wizards require wands to call the power out or why children without inhibitions can use accidental magic without a wand."

"This is fascinating and all, but what does this have to do with a metamorphmagus?" asked Harry. While he was actually incredibly intrigued with the topic of the discussion that they'd been having for the past few minutes, he was more focused on trying to control his powers as soon as possible. He was also starting to get impatient for their lesson to end so he could begin studying mind magics again, chiefly memory editing and deletion. But Tonks's hand kept brushing 'accidentally' against his forearm or chest, and he just couldn't bring himself to actively wanting his short amount of time with her to end. She was just too cute for her own good. Plus, his hormones weren't helping things...

Rolling her eyes, she bonked him on the head and said, "I'm getting there! Now, some people have multiple magical circuits which can have affinities for different forms of magic altogether. These people are magi, but that;s just another anecdote. Metamorphmagi are the result of a random genetic mutation that gave us conscious control over our magical circuits, allowing us to alter their structure with enough willpower. Now, to be a good metamorphmagus, you need to be knowledgeable in anatomy and thaumaturgy, or else you could end up killing yourself. You need to know where body parts are, what they do, how they work, what they look like, how to alter them, etc."

"So I'm basically going to be going over anatomy with you?" he asked. For some reason, he allowed a small twinge of hope to enter his voice, making it sound as if he wanted to explore _her_ body. Of course, he'd love to do just that, but he wanted to keep that a secret from her. He was only eleven after all, and she was seventeen. It wasn't very likely that she'd let him do any of the things that his mind kept conjuring up at the most innappropriate times. Besides, he was perfectly fine with just looking at her.

She smiled, almost shyly, as she looked at him. "I just said that anatomy would be helpful. And Occlumency would certainly increase your ability to retain knowledge and improve your willpower through magically rerouting your brain and giving your neural pathways more elasticity, but its not necessary. You could change your hair color and eye color already, which is the easiest form of changes: aesthetic. But you can do a lot more, gaining command over your body's various systems. The greatest metamorphmagi have superhuman physical characteristics and abilities, capable of erasing imperfections at will."

"Alright, let's get started! But before we do, where did you learn all that?" asked Harry. It would be a good idea to figure out where all that information came from. There was likely a lot more than what she'd already told him from her source, and he wanted to know everything that he possibly could. The faster he mastered his powers, the faster he could begin and end the war with Dumbledore and Voldemort.

"The Metamorphmagi Academy teaches incredibly advanced anatomical and magical theory classes. They usually know who's a metamorphmagus because its a genetic trait and only passed down through known family lines. I suspect you disappearing for nearly a decade through them off your trail, which is why they couldn't train you earlier. Now, the heart is..."

* * *

**A/N: The shit with Tonks will be explained later**


End file.
